An objective survey of Donald Trump’s turgid Tweets, tortuous press briefings and countless cosy Fox TV interviews would lead you to conclude that the word ‘tripe’ was tailor made for him. The only weakness in the description is the absence of dangerous effect and malignant outcomes. For Donald Trump is not just some rich and spoiled bozo shouting his mouth off and being summarily dismissed and ignored by ordinary thinking human beings; he is the elected President of the most powerful, most armed and most dangerous country on the planet. What he says matters and has consequences so his ‘tripe’ is not just ‘silly’ it is also dangerous.

Trump will face a re-election campaign next November 2020 and on behalf of all humanity the American people must deliver us from further evil and elect someone who actually speaks sense and promotes values like equality, social solidarity and world peace. That someone is Vermont Senator and self-declared democratic socialist, Bernie Sanders.

In 2009 I sat in the Celebrity Big Brother (CBB) House with American rap star Coolio and famed singer Latoya Jackson as we watched the inauguration speech of the first ever black President, Barack Obama. Coolio cried that night. Like Obama his grandparents had been from families steeped in slavery and therefore the sight of a black man winning the Presidency was a momentous occasion for him. I remember being slated by Davina, the CBB presenter, during my House eviction interview for suggesting to Coolio that Obama may not be the answer to America’s deep inequality of income and opportunity problem amongst the black and poor communities as he was well supported by many big business interests. I urged caution in relation to expectations.

Obama served the richest in America first and foremost and deployed drones to kill hundreds across the Middle East and illegally manufactured the justification for the disastrous invasion of Libya which resulted in the mob murder of Muammar Gaddafi. He also stringently applied US immigration laws and presided over the detention of in excess of 40,000 children separated from their illegal immigrant parents at the US-Mexico border in detention camps. The very same camps and inhumane treatment Trump is being condemned for deploying today was initiated by Obama back in 2014.

When I met with Coolio again in September 2017 and took him along to see the famous Glasgow Celtic football team at Parkhead in Glasgow, I discussed the disappointment felt in many black communities at the record in government of Obama and the shocking election of Trump 12 months earlier. Coolio was saddened by the lack of real change under Obama but in relation to the Trump election he said ‘the alternative on offer was hardly any better’.

There is the rub. The political system in America is rotten to the core. We know it is corporate run and owned. That the two party system is rigged to favour the survival of capitalism first and always. That only the millionaires get a chance to run for big office. That the lack of a genuine workers’ party in a country of so many workers is shocking. But the Democratic Party had the chance in 2016 to reject the old stale politics of the ‘swamp’ so effectively lampooned by Trump and select radical outsider Bernie Sanders to fight him.

Sanders is a lifelong advocate of workers’ rights, women’s rights, universal healthcare and anti-illegal wars and invasions. Sanders really does want to ‘drain the swamp’ he doesn’t just say it for effect. He would have been a real anti-Establishment candidate and he would have exposed Trump for the fraud he is. But the rich coterie at the head of the Democrats couldn’t stomach someone so authentically anti-big corporations and for the workers. They rigged the selection process to stop Sanders from winning and ensured pro-big business, pro-Iraq war, pro-Libya invasion, pro-Syria invasion warmonger Hilary Clinton was selected. Even some of her principal female promoters in 2016 now admit that’s what happened:

The DNC was meant to be neutral in the contest between Mrs Clinton and her Democratic challenger Bernie Sanders, a Vermont senator.

But supporters of Mr Sanders have long claimed the party showed preference to Mrs Clinton.

Ms Brazile says the deal was "not a criminal act", but "compromised the party's integrity".

The race to win the Democratic Party nomination to fight Trump for the Presidency in 2020 is now underway. It is a large field and undoubtedly some of the candidates are head and shoulders above Trump politically but Sanders is the stick on man for the job. Current front runner right now is former Vice-President under Obama, Joe Biden. It would be an act of lunacy to select him. He is of the exact same mould of Hilary Clinton. He is not an anti-Establishment candidate as he represents the Establishment. It would be like the fatal mistake of taking a knife to a gunfight highlighted by Malone played by Sean Connery in the classic ‘The Untouchables’.

Trump is not going to be beaten by someone who represents no change. That was the commitment Biden gave to rich donors recently. Don’t worry. Under me “nothing will fundamentally change”.

Well, millions of ordinary Americans are desperate for change. Real change. A proper living wage. A universal healthcare system. Real investment in clean energy production and the resultant jobs boost. Diverting billions from arms production into socially useful production. Taxing the billionaires and millionaires properly. Ensuring the multi-billion corporations like Amazon, which made close to $11 billion profits last year but paid not a cent of federal income tax, actually, pay tax on their profits. Cancelling the crippling student debt payments which keep millions in poverty and investing in an education system based on merit not on wealth. Building millions of new and affordable homes. Calling out corrupt corporations like big Pharma, health insurance and armaments companies. Seeking peaceful relations and honest dialogue with other nations across the globe not exploitation and the threat of invasion.

These are the changes Bernie Sanders stands for and has promoted all his adult life. Sanders oozes integrity and epitomises honesty. The millionaires and billionaires in big business despise him and all he stands for but he has connected with millions of ordinary Americans hungry for change, particularly younger Americans. He is the anti-dote to Trump's slick lying machine. Sanders did very well in 2016 and was actually cheated out of the Democratic Party nomination. Millions have suffered as a result of that mistake. This time he can win the nomination and the contest.

Bernie has raised more money and support this time than 4 years ago and he is the progressive, visionary and radical candidate with the unique selling point – he means what he says. His slogan is “Not me. Us” and he has the potential to not just improve America but improve the world. He deserves support from every progressive within the US and everyone with a belief in humanity outside it. His list of grassroots, civil rights, trade union, environmental and justice campaign backers is highly impressive. So is his celebrity endorsements from the likes of actors Susan Sarandon, Danny DeVito, Danny Glover and, perhaps most significantly of all, Mark Ruffalo. With Hulk on his side how can he lose?

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.

The views and opinions expressed in the article do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.