GP Taylor: Why Trump the loose cannon may be our best hope for peace

Watching his first Press conference was like being ringside to a bare knuckle fight. He should be made an honorary Yorkshireman for his grit and determination to stare down his critics.

Whatever may happen in the future, one thing is sure and that is his meetings with the Press are going to be very interesting. I only wish he would appear on Radio 4’s Today programme. Finally, there could be a guest who would not be afraid to roast John Humphrys. Trump is certainly not afraid of the BBC and its bias towards the metropolitan elite.

It is good news that at last there is a world leader who shoots from the hip and speaks his mind. Gone are the droolings of Barack Obama, a man who used a thousand words to say nothing, planned to change the world but just bombed and killed innocents. ‘The Donald’ has a rough way with words and fires them like bullets. Perhaps, this is why he has been such a hit with the American working class. He is not seen as being part of the liberal elite and isn’t a seasoned career politician.

Trump is a businessman. Someone who knows what it is like to fail and then get up again and succeed. Like him or not, he has worked hard to get where he is today and because of that he isn’t in the pocket of big business. There are no favours to pay back for Trump. He is the first non-politician to be elected president since Dwight Eisenhower.

One of his greatest assets is that he is a businessman. He is a natural diplomat, negotiator and drives a hard bargain. It’s in his DNA. You don’t become – and remain – a billionaire without incredible intuition and diplomatic skills. His business acumen and success encourages natural respect from friends and enemies alike. Trump doesn’t care about not being liked. Criticism and dirty dossiers are like water off a duck’s back. He is there to do a job, a job that I think he is perfectly suited for and we should give him a chance to do it.

Donald Trump has the best political instincts of any political leader since Ronald Reagan. Like Reagan, he is a master at reading where the electorate is and where it’s headed. He knows what people are feeling and that is a good quality for any politician to have. He has the sense to understand that the people of America are sick of being seen as interfering in the politics of other countries. They realise that their intelligence agencies have been involved in the overthrow of many countries and in rigging elections in many more. America even threatened Canada with invasion under the leadership of JFK. Good neighbour? Special relationship? America has up until now been a self-serving state. Hopefully things will change.

Now they have a leader who wants to end the dangerous sabre-rattling against Russia. A move that can only bring about a secure future. An early meeting with Vladimir Putin will set the tone of good relations between the two super states. This has the possibility of being damaging to Britain as Theresa May pursues placing even more sanctions on Russia. The stupidity of being the lap dog to Obama in his pursuit of regime change in Syria could cost us in trade deals with both the USA and Russia.

Russia is wanting to engage with the world and America is about to make it happen. Trump has to prove to Russia that America is no longer a threat. American troops and missiles have to be withdrawn from its borders and the new Cold War has to end. Hopefully he will dismantle Nato, which has become an aggressive factor in anti-Russian politics.

Under Trump, America will no longer be seen as the world’s policeman and that can only be a good thing. Rest assured, before America backs down from the world stage, Trump and Putin together will wipe IS from the map. We have now moved from Obama the poodle to Trump the pitbull.

Our government has to respond to Trump positively. So far our leaders have been naïve and stupid in their criticism of the incoming President. Theresa May and our security services appear to have done a lot to try and discredit Trump. They do so at our peril.

It is in the interest of Britain to treat Trump with the respect his office deserves. Now is not the time for dirty tricks or dodgy dossiers. Donald Trump has to be given a chance and only time will tell if he can make America great again or be the worst President in history.

GP Taylor is a writer and broadcaster and can be followed @GPTaylorauthor.