In a 2015 column, journalist Carl Hiaasen wrote: “There will never be a President Trump.”

“I didn’t think it was possible,” he told BBC Hardtalk’s Stephen Sackur, adding that “it would defy satire” if Mr Trump was elected.

Mr Hiaasen also said he did not believe that Barack Obama could be elected, explaining that when he was growing up there were segregated beaches and segregated bathrooms.

“The idea of an African-American in the White House seemed inconceivable to me,” he said.

“It shows what the capacity for hope is, and it shows what the capacity for utter cynicism is - on both sides,” Mr Hiaasen said.

Watch the full interview on Monday 4 February 2019 on BBC World News or watch again on BBC iPlayer (UK only)