The many extremes of Donald Trump

Washington, DC

MUCH attention in the United States and elsewhere is focused on whether US presidential candidate Donald Trump will shift away from the anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, and anti-rational rhetoric that carried him to the Republican Party nomination. Some of his advisers are reportedly recommending that he move towards "mainstream" Republican positions, such as those held by the leadership of the House of Representatives.

It is entirely possible that Mr Trump will follow their counsel. After all, his current positions are not generating enough support to make victory in November likely (the widely cited FiveThirtyEight website puts his odds at around 20 per cent). And Mr Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, Governor of Indiana, served in the House from 2000 to 2012 and has close ties to Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republican leaders.