Editorial: The King of Comedy

By now just about everyone has a Trump story.

Back in 2004, after 30 years in the newspaper industry, I was about to take over the editorship of a paper for the first time.

I was in a strange house, in a strange town, about to become the boss of a bunch of strangers - a bit like a newly-elected president sitting in the White House in Washington.

A little daunted and seeking inspiration, I tuned into the debut episode of a new reality TV show about would-be business moguls trying to prove their management credentials. It was just what I needed, and I've been hooked on The Apprentice ever since.

But though ostensibly about business entrepreneurs honing their leadership skills, The Apprentice was, in fact, really just entertainment.

And you have to respect Trump's consistency - he's Mr Entertainment right now. Would we have got so many laughs from Hillary. I think not.

His latest party piece came on Monday when he referred to some non-existent "incident" in Sweden the previous day (he'd forgotten he was watching an old current affairs show about the impacts of immigration in Abba-land).

What followed with the various comments and spoofs on #lastnightinsweden was hilarious.

A photo of a man bemused by a set of plans for an Ikea kit-set shelving unit, wooden parts, hammer and screws scattered on the floor - "Scenes of appalling despair #lastnightinsweden".

"Free healthcare & education. Paid vacation & maternity leave. Democracy. Just the usual Scandinavian stuff...."

Ikea again - how to construct your very own border wall.

You couldn't make this up.

The Kim Jong-Un of the Western world (volatile nature; finger on the button; ridiculous hair-do) is a scream.

Politics is a form of showbiz, right? It's a popularity contest; it's about not being told: "You're fired!" Trump steals every scene.

So as the world worries about the pollution of the planet, the end of democracy and thermo-nuclear war, the joke alert has just ratcheted up to Def Con 1.