Is Boris the Borg to Trump’s McEnroe?

PONDERING why ambassador Sir Kim Darroch felt it necessary to list Donald Trump’s shortcomings (hardly a secret – they were all over the papers). It is easy to sit in judgement, so what kind of diplomatic dispatch would I communicate?

Dear Theresa... It was the best of Trump, it was the worst of Trump, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness...

The best of Trump is drawing attention to the imbalance of trade between China and the rest of the world, the equivalent of having our fuel tanks furtively syphoned drop by drop in the still of the night. Also, how little EU countries contribute – Germany especially – toward their own defence.

He has alerted us to the abuse of intellectual property rights, indeed, back in March Jaguar Land Rover won a landmark case in China against Jiangling Motors over their copycat Evoque. And let’s keep our fingers clear of Huawei’s 5G-Spot, eh?

Mr Trump has also warned the world, in his own curious way, of the problems mass migration will bring when global warming really begins to sizzle – now is the time to confront this challenge rather than push it onto the back burner for the planet’s children and grandchildren to resolve.

As for the President’s worst features – well, he is the real Captain Obvious. Mr Trump reminds me of the tennis player John McEnroe, who went bananas the moment he felt an opponent gaining the upper hand – something he would have sensed ahead of us watching – and of course it disrupted his rival’s game, handing the initiative back to Mr McEnroe.

This is precisely Mr Trump’s modus operandi: the instant he feels threatened he releases one of his explosive tweets, whether consciously or subconsciously, which deflect pressure. Yet if memory serves, there was one player John McEnroe could not disrupt – yes, the ice-cool Swede, Bjorn Borg. Let us hope our own blond version will not allow Mr Trump to rattle his serve.

True, Boris has said some illadvised things – yet the President does not appear threatened, so it must be “Advantage Johnson”, no? By the way, having a fellow called Kim handing out the Ferrero Rocher was always an ambush in waiting! Huw Beynon Llandeilo