It is an established fact that Donald Trump possesses a quite superhuman level of charm, especially in the vicinity of women. After all, for what other reason would Melania Knauss – 24 years his junior, international fashion model, speaker of six languages – have fallen so madly in love with him back in the early Noughties?

The US President has become even more adept at smooth-talking since taking office in the White House, too. Take yesterday as an example. During a photo opportunity in the Oval Office, the 71-year-old held a congratulatory phone call with Leo Varadkar, the new Taoiseach, and mentioned that there were a number of Irish journalists in the room.

He then beckoned to his desk Caitriona Perry, an RTE reporter, and proceeded to engage in 10 seconds of what many (Perry included) saw as "bizarre" and slightly creepy banter – but which he probably saw as just another successful interaction with a member of the opposite sex.