Trump turns foes into allies; and may turn partners into adversaries

SO how can you get Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and former Republican vice-president Dick Cheney to agree on something?

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has a plan. Say something so outrageous that it will ensure that your favourability ratings among opinion makers would hit rock bottom while your support among voters would zoom up.

A day after Mr Trump pushed the envelope once again and called for a "total and complete shutdown" on Muslims entering the United States, Democrats and Republicans formed a united front against him. The critics included not only Democratic figures such as Mrs Clinton who wrote on Twitter: "Tell Donald Trump: Hate is not an American value", but also Republican leaders such as Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House of Representatives who assailed Mr Trump's comments as running contrary to conservative principles.