Let’s hope Obama will not let Virgin boss pick up his tab

AFTER the high-octane stress of the White House, the Obamas wound down in the company of Richard Branson, holidaying on one of his tropical islands.

With a vast entourage of roughly 100 aides and secret service staff, they enjoyed the relaxed vibe on the British Virgin islands before being helicoptered to their flight home on Branson’s private jet.

Mr Branson is an affable and gregarious chap, although I must admit my opinion of him did slide after I endured his Virgin train service, from Birmingham to Oxford, an extremely costly journey that was so overcrowded it made our Dublin to Belfast train service seem like the Orient Express. Of course the Obamas, pictured – no more than the Trumps or any of the 1% – never travel in such a modest fashion. They exist in a bubble, keep company with millionaires, becoming so pampered and detached from real life that voters turn from them in despair.

Now no one expects the Obamas to kick their heels up in Lanzarote or mix with the hoi polloi down in Florida.

But there are exclusive resorts and private islands for hire all around the world that offer complete privacy and freedom.

And that would not involve any Clintonesque compromises or cosying up to the wealthy global elite.

Most people pay for their own holidays. Let’s hope the Obamas, who make so much of their humble origins, are not about to join the cast of dubious world leaders who prefer to let billionaires pick up the tab.