Politics used to be show business for ugly people. Now perhaps it’s sport for incompetents. Exhibit one: Donald Trump paid virtually no income tax for much of the 1980s and 1990s, because he ran up more than $1bn in losses, documents leaked this week suggest. In his defence, the US president argued it was a “sport” for property developers to show losses for tax purposes. Mr Trump didn’t specify which sport he had in mind. But I get his drift: making glitzy investments while racking up huge financial losses is something Manchester City football club specialises in.
Which brings us to exhibit two: Theresa May this week compared herself to Jurgen Klopp, the Liverpool FC manager whose team miraculously beat Barcelona in a Champion’s League semi-final on Tuesday. Liverpool’s win “shows [that] when everyone says it’s all over, that your European opposition have got you beat . . . actually we can still secure success,” said Mrs May, who by virtue of being Britain’s prime minister has people who laugh at her jokes.
I don’t blame Mrs May for seeking the association, even if Stuttgart-born Mr Klopp has said that her key policy — delivering Brexit — “makes no sense at all”. The Premier League stands tall amid national disarray — the UK version of Russia’s Kirov Ballet or the 1992 Cuban Olympic team.