Ted Cruz won't be able to usurp Trump so easily

In the last proper episode of the long-running American soap opera Dallas, arch bad guy JR Ewing is shown what the world would look like if he didn’t exist. Unlike its inspiration, It’s a Wonderful Life, his closest family and friends are happier, more successful and better off without him.

I was reminded of this childhood TV moment when thinking about Donald Trump and his role in global public life over the past decade. I frankly fail to see how anyone wouldn’t be better off if he had just made money instead of headlines – neither the people who have been hurt by his Government; nor even his fervent supporters, some of whom now face jail for allowing that support to fester into insurrection and violence.