Trump's sweet smell of success

Whether it’s the cologne that “Embodies Strength, Power, and Victory” or the “Big Beautiful Bill”, this isn’t a presidency as much as it’s a four-year marketing campaign.

You must hand it to Donald Trump. Where would we be if it weren’t for his ability to stink things up just when it appeared that he was savouring the sweet smell of success?

This morning, for instance, I’d be here, up early to wade through the aftermath of Trump’s “victory” over Iran - questionable militarily, but Trump is selling like he’s General Douglas MacArthur liberating the Philippines in 1944.

I’d then have to deal with the fact that the Senate passed HR1 on Tuesday. The temptation remains to write “aka the One Big Beautiful Bill”, except that’s its actual name. It’s the President’s huge tax-cutting budget that narrowly passed through the House back in May and will now head back there after ending the career of one Senator: Tom Tillis of North Carolina announced his plan to retire when his seat is up for re-election next year. He announced he wouldn’t vote for HR1. In Trump’s Republican party, refusing to vote for the bill is effectively the same as retiring.