World on edge as America's Last Horror Movie reaches climax

IT was supposed to be an American version of Game of Thrones: The House of Clinton versus the House of Bush, a presidential race in which two political dynasties would compete in a lively but civilised election campaign, focusing on government spending, tax rates, and the minimum wage. Boring (yawn).

Former secretary of state, New York senator and first lady Hillary Clinton did eventually win the Democratic presidential nomination, but only after a bitter primary fight with a 75-year old self-proclaimed socialist, whose populist positions on issues such as trade were embraced by members of the party's progressive wing. And poor Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and the son and brother of two recent presidents, had no chance of winning the GOP presidential nomination. He and other candidates who had enjoyed the support of their party's leaders and donors weren't able to withstand the political onslaught by Republican voters, angry at the political and economic elites. They discovered their champion in an unlikely choice: a billionaire and real estate magnate from New York who has never held public office and whose views on many issues ran contrary to traditional Republican positions.

 There is no doubt that the meteoric rise of Donald J Trump - dismissed earlier by most pundits and politicos - would be recalled as one of the most stunning developments in American political history. At the minimum, it transformed the entire 2016 presidential race from the Game of Thrones into the Last Horror Movie; think Chucky versus Cruella. The entry of the former TV reality show host into the presidential race helped turn both the primaries and the general election into global media spectacles in which allegations of sexual harassment against Mr Trump and of political corruption against Mrs Clinton ended up dominating the agenda until the last days of the campaign, with most voters telling pollsters that they dislike both candidates and regard them as dishonest.