There is an emerging political phenomenon that poses a unique threat to international stability and our collective sanity. It is the growing influence of what is sometimes known, in political jargon, as the Idiot Adult Son. From Donald Trump to Benjamin Netanyahu, Jair Bolsonaro to Rodrigo Duterte, the world’s most awful leaders all seem to have knuckleheaded offspring who are doing their best to be just like Dad, and doing a lot of damage in the process.

The Idiot Adult Son, by the way, should not confused with the Large Adult Son, a meme that sprung up recently. The latter is basically an overgrown, overprivileged man-child; annoying but largely harmless. The IAS, on the other hand, is a loose cannon whose attempts to gain the attention and affection of his father often result in a diplomatic incident. Eric Trump is a Large Adult Son. Donald Trump Jr, he of the awkward Russian meetings, is an Idiot Adult Son. (Ivanka is a Machiavellian Adult Daughter, but that’s another article).

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Perhaps because his father never loved him enough growing up, the IAS worships his dad to an almost pathological degree. The Brazilian president’s second son, Carlos Bolsonaro, for example, has his father’s face tattooed on his arm. A very healthy and not-at-all creepy thing to have done. I don’t believe Donald Jr has tattooed his arms orange yet, but he does spend an inordinate amount of time online obsessing over Trump Sr. He even recently shared a Pornhub meme about his father. Again, a very healthy, not-at-all creepy thing to have done.

Spending large amounts of time doing inadvisable things on social media is a defining characteristic of the IAS. Carlos, who is nicknamed “pitbull” (as in the dog, not the rapper), has made headlines over the past week for his online attacks against Brazil’s vice-president, Hamilton Mourão. This latest drama comes just a couple of months after Carlos – who has taken part in high-level governmental meetings since his daddy became president, even though he doesn’t have a cabinet role – called a minister a liar. This sparked a minor governmental crisis and the minister eventually exited the cabinet.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his son Yair visiting the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Photograph: Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images

Yair Netanyahu, the eldest son of Israel’s prime minister, is also adept at being awful online. Last month he went on a racist rant on Twitter saying that “there is no such thing” as Palestine because the letter “P” does not appear in the Arabic alphabet. Yair, a man with the intellectual capacity of a half-dead moth, didn’t seem aware that Palestine is the Anglicised version of the Arabic word falasteen. He also didn’t seem to have considered, as various people pointed out, that there’s no “J” in Hebrew. Which, by his impeccable logic, would mean there’s no such thing as a Jewish person.

While all he wants is Daddy’s approval, the IAS is a constant embarrassment and frequent liability to his father. Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines, for example, has built a bloody brand around executing anyone who has anything to do with drugs. It has proved more than a little awkward, then, that his eldest son, Paolo, is constantly being linked to the drug trade. In 2017 Paolo resigned as vice mayor of Davao, after being accused of having links to a drug smuggling case. And earlier this year a video accusing Paolo of receiving payoffs from a drug syndicate circulated online. Duterte has stood by his son for now, saying that the video is propaganda disseminated by his enemies. Nevertheless, one imagines he can’t be very happy; he has previously said that he’ll have his son killed if it turns out he is involved in drugs.

Yair has proved similarly embarrassing for Netanyahu, who has spent years embroiled in allegations of corruption, bribery and fraud. Last year Israeli TV aired a secret recording of a 2015 conversation between Yair and a couple of friends outside a strip club. “My dad made an great deal for your dad, bro,” Yair was recorded telling the son of an Israeli gas tycoon. “He fought in the Knesset for this, bro … he arranged $20bn for your dad, and you can’t spot me 400 shekels [£85]?” The gas deal being referenced had been criticised as being corrupt, so Yair’s boasting didn’t do his dad any favours.

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The fact that the world’s most awful leaders have been cursed with awful offspring might be mildly amusing were it not for nepotism. It doesn’t matter if the likes of Carlos, Don Jr, Paolo and Yair can do no right, they are still the son of men who have no problem elevating their unqualified offspring into important positions.

This new generation of morons have a good chance of running and ruining the world; becoming even more incompetent and unpleasant versions of their dads. To paraphrase Philip Larkin: they fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had, and you become a threat to political stability too.