

In 2005, Mike Judge's comedy Idiocracy depicted a future America ruled by trash culture and a blowhard celebrity president. Sound familiar?

(This piece was first published in January 2016, ahead of Donald Trump's nomination as the Republican presidential candidate. Mr Trump has now been elected to the White House)

The good people of Iowa will soon vote for a Republican nominee. The polls suggest it will be Donald Trump. After several months of racism, sexism and Sarah Palin (“We’re not gonna chill,” she said at her endorsement “we’re gonna drill, baby, drill!”) he’s still way out in front.

Why? Well, I had a moment of epiphany about Trump when watching Fox News one day. He was on Sean Hannity’s show explaining why people should suspend intelligence and vote for him. “I can build roads and secure the border. I can get this country moving again, Sean, because I’ve done it in business and I can do it for America.”

Then Sean cut to an ad break. Cue an old guy in a cowboy hat who said: “Do you suffer from muscle pain? My magic formula spray can heal aches and pains in seconds!” And he sprayed it on his tiny old arms, grinning at us with big white teeth.