The Spectator’s notes | 5 July 2018

Newsmax, the magazine of the eponymous US conservative multiplatform network, carries a full page advertisement for ‘The Presidential 1911 Pistol’, produced by an organisation called Heroes and Patriots. This ‘beautifully engraved’ and ‘fully functional’ Limited Edition Colt Government 1911 A1 Semi-Automatic Pistol is gold-plated and holds 12 rounds. Its purpose is to ‘unite with our President and show support for his policies’. On the grips is a portrait of Donald Trump surrounded by Celtic scrollwork and thistles, ‘honoring the President’s Scottish heritage’. One side of the barrel proclaims ‘Make America Great Again’, the other ‘Drain The Swamp’. On top, ‘America First’ and ‘End Fake News’. The pistol ‘will become a treasured Family Heirloom worthy of passing down to many generations.’ It is not available in California or Massachusetts. The weapon is manufactured by Walther in Germany, though whether to honour the President’s German heritage is, like the price, not stated. I cannot pretend it looks like a lovely work of art, but I am genuinely, unsneeringly impressed by a culture which wishes to celebrate its elected leader in this way.