So it’s no surprise that millions of people around the world tuned in to see him verbally spar with his Democratic rival for the presidency Kamala Harris.
Trump believes he is the master of all he surveys. The question is: does all he surveys wish to see him return as their master?
That will be down to the US electoral college system, under which he doesn’t need to win the most votes — just the right votes in the right states.
They go their own way in the US and can easily be swayed by the sheer entertainment value of the candidate.
That’s where Trump wins. There is rarely a dull moment. He’s unpredictable, a law unto himself. Even his most loyal party faithful must hold their breath every time he takes to the podium.
Trump got away with it when President Biden offered up a dog’s dinner of a debate as the presidential campaign opened.
It was one for the whole world to chew over, not just, as Trump baselessly claimed on Tuesday, migrants in Springfield – Ohio, that is, not The Simpsons’ Springfield, though that scene would have been better placed in a cartoon sitcom.
Kamala Harris, however, demonstrated that she’s got a few more teeth.
Younger, sharper, a woman of colour, with a prosecutor’s career behind her, there will be more than a few in the Trump camp wishing he had gone a little easier on the outgoing president back in June.
The political gladiators have no rematch scheduled… yet. Trump previously suggested another two dates for debate.
If there is to be another, it would be no surprise if it was given the hype of a Las Vegas background. Whether that’s what the world needs is a different matter, when ratings are seen as a bigger prize than the presidency.
Come November 5, there would be little shock if it’s Trump who is elected, the returning president proclaiming “are you not entertained?”, whether music superstar Taylor Swift is in the other corner or not. Because, for many voters in the US, entertainment is king and actual politics secondary. Which is frightening for the rest of us.
American politics may be unpredictable at a time when stability is needed — and that can have a huge impact around the world.
What is for certain, though, is that the US voters will, in the end, get the president they deserve. But there will be plenty more fireworks before then.
