Trump tonic

Yesterday, Donald Trump gave the speech that Theresa May should have given at Davos: down to business, pro-business, open for business. And all despite the president’s supposed dislike of globalisation. In fact, the populist’s anti-free trade talk has softened into fair trade rhetoric. Mr Trump has presumably discovered that the only way to make America great again is to exploit world markets, just as he has found that a military retreat from the Middle East would weaken his country’s standing. Reality has pushed the administration towards a more orthodox Republican position: don’t run away from the world, make the most of its opportunities.

Mr Trump boasted of a bonfire of regulations, a tax bill that is making America a far more attractive place to invest and success measured in a buoyant stock market. Some of the latter is the consequence of a global upturn, for sure, but also a tribute to what Mr Trump called his “cheerleading” method. Upbeat, positive leadership makes a difference. Emmanuel Macron has taken over as the spiritual leader of the EU largely just by presenting himself as such. Mr Trump has arguably talked up American business by being relentlessly positive about its potential – a legacy, he told the Davos attendees, of his own experience in private enterprise. Yes, the world is somewhat duty bound to pay attention to any US president when he speaks. But this one, at least, is always guaranteed to say something interesting.

More good news is that he intends to visit the UK later this year. Britain should get ready to sell its markets to America. We need a post-brexit trade deal. It’s time to start cheer-leading the British economy.