At the beginning of the year, US President Donald Trump was in the ascendency. The consensus opinion among analysts was that Trump would retain the US presidency with ease. The economy was in good shape; US unemployment stood at a fifty-year low and unemployment rates among ethnic minorities had declined significantly. Trump had managed to keep the US out of any foreign conflicts – even the decision to kill the Iranian general Solemani did not result in any serious consequences. Trump claimed to have successfully reset trading terms with China, though in truth little was achieved in the ‘interim’ trade…