Washington

THE Republican National Convention in Cleveland this week ought to be interesting, but whether it will be informative is another question. Barring a last-minute surprise, the delegates will nominate real estate magnate Donald Trump to be the GOP presidential candidate, and he will pledge - probably repeatedly - to "make America great again".

Just how he plans to do this (or whether the slogan is simply a clever sound bite) is something of a mystery, because Mr Trump has advanced only the sketchiest of agendas. By now, its main elements are well known: He would evict the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants; slap stiff tariffs (35 and 45 per cent) on Mexican and Chinese imports; ban Muslims from entering the US; and push Congress to pass a US$9.5 trillion tax cut over a decade.