America’s new First Family the Trumps will always be second best to the dignified Obamas
THAT line-up of the new “First Family” on stage with Donald Trump as he made his acceptance speech put me in mind of the cast of a particularly downmarket reality show.
Or maybe one of those cheap US daytime soap operas.
There they all were. The blonde, tousle-haired, over-made-up women with improbable names including Melania, Tiffany and Ivanka and the blokes all chisel-jawed, sharp-suited and gormless.
All we needed was a fist fight and a DNA test.
What a contrast to the Obamas, who have occupied the White House with dignity, intelligence, warmth and grace.
There hasn’t been a breath of scandal about them and no dirty little sexual or financial secrets in the Oval Office waiting to be uncovered.
Eldest daughter Malia might have rolled her eyes once during one of her dad’s extra-long speeches, but that’s about as bad as it ever got.
Both girls are a credit to their parents, and in an era where politicians are loathed and reviled, the incorruptible conduct of President Obama is all the more remarkable.
As First Lady, Michelle will be an impossibly tough act to follow. She’s bright, beautiful, compassionate and has a wicked sense of humour. She tried her best to make America happier and has never put a foot wrong.
She recognised the importance of dressing properly and not once made a single fashion faux pas, whether it was meeting the Queen in a Tom Ford gown or playing rough and tumble with kids in the Rose Garden wearing High Street jeans and a sweater.
Her speeches in support of Hillary Clinton were inspirational and the way she made mincemeat of Trump and completely deflated the old windbag made you long for Michelle herself to have been the Democrat candidate.
What a President she would have made.
“First Lady-in-Waiting” Melania is a stunningly beautiful and well-educated woman who speaks six languages, but she comes across as cold.
Maybe it’s because English isn’t her mother tongue and possibly her ex-model looks and figure are intimidating, but she’s not what you could call a woman’s woman.
Her choice of white and cream couture only adds to the aloof, Snow Queen image.
Melania’s speeches were stilted and robotic, although with better writers and more practise that can surely only improve.
She really needs to quickly adopt a cause in the way that Nancy Reagan tried to stamp out drug abuse, or
Betty Ford pioneered treatment for alcoholics and better understanding of mental health issues.
The First Lady has enormous privilege and a massive platform to do good and make a difference, but Melania’s efforts to have her voice heard during the campaign were not altogether successful.
Her early efforts to stop cyber bullying were mocked because her boorish husband was effectively using social media to behave like a bumptious bully himself.
She needs to find her niche.
Perhaps, like Jackie Kennedy, she will want to redecorate the White House, although hopefully not in the rather vulgar style of Trump’s hotels and offices.
What she absolutely must not be is mere arm-candy for her charmless husband.
Women such as Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama have set the bar very high and we need much more from the First Lady than recipes for cookies and flower arranging.
The eyes of the world are on Trump and his family, mostly with fear and foreboding.
But we need to at least give them a chance to step up the job and try to heal the dis-United States of America.
I don’t think Trump will get through his first year without making at least one colossal and possibly impeachable error.
The one bright spot is that perhaps Michelle Obama could be persuaded to run in four years (or less) to bring back some dignity to the office of President and break through that glass ceiling once and for all.
In the meantime, Melania has a lot to live up to.
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Cliff is full of grace
I MET Sir Cliff Richard this week and was delighted to see him in such good form and looking forward to the future after going through the torments of hell for the past two years.
The scars of being wrongfully accused of the most heinous of crimes are still there.
He told me he is still a bit wary when people want to take photos with him and give him a friendly cuddle.
He is sure that will pass, but you can’t blame him for feeling vulnerable after his ordeal.
Remarkably, he has forgiven those who made up the false claims of sexual assault and refused to be angry and bitter. He also never felt abandoned by God or lost his faith.
Sir Cliff is such a decent man and it was beyond cruel that he had to go through such a bruising ordeal.
As we all know, the truth came out in the end, but how ludicrous that it took two long years.
He can’t completely move on because he is suing the BBC and South Yorkshire Police for their reporting and handling of the accusations, and there will be a court case to get through.
Sir Cliff is driven in this legal case not by money but because he doesn’t want anyone else to go through the same traumatic experience.
On a brighter note, he has a new album out which, due to the miracles of modern technology, features a duet with Elvis, and he will be touring again next year.
Despite everything, he considers himself lucky and still views the world with his glass half-full.
A good and remarkable man.
Prince Harry's new girl is no delicate flower
I’VE a lot of time for Prince Harry and it’s admirable that he wants to protect his new girlfriend from being harassed by the media and the general public.
I would, however, point out that Meghan Markle is a grown woman, an actress in a high-profile US TV drama and that she chose to launch a clothing line the day after her royal romance came to light.
She is not a delicate little flower who will wilt in the spotlight.
I hope the two of them make a go of it and Harry finds happiness.
But he must realise that, because of his extremely privileged position, whoever he dates and eventually marries will always be the subject of intense interest, especially if they happen to be famous in their own right.
IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN
YOU know you need to get your finger out of your bottom and at the very least start making a Christmas list when I’m A Celebrity comes back on our screens.
Nothing’s says “the birth of the baby Jesus is nigh” than a bunch of hapless celebs tucking into a kangaroos penis or finding cockroaches in every orifice.
Thanks to the chortling genius of Ant & Dec, right, this is by far my favourite of all the reality shows and never disappoints. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to put themselves through such humiliation and horrible hurdles, but it gives us all hours of gleeful giggles.
Gratifyingly, the most genuinely decent person usually ends up crowned King or Queen of the Jungle while the phoney show-offs and attention-seekers are swiftly weeded out.
So long Poldark
SO Poldark has galloped off into the glorious Cornwall sunset with his hair billowing in the breeze and his manly thighs bulging in his breeches.
Now we can only count the days until he returns to glower at the gentry, lust over Elizabeth and strip off to scythe in his golden fields or disappear underground to mine for tin.
It’s been a cracking series, with love, betrayal, greed, death and even revolting peasants. Demelza proved she is not only too good for her cheating husband but she would beat him at fisticuffs, and Aunt Agatha is a pistol-toting badass.
Elizabeth has to sleep with slimy George – bad enough , but she will be for ever comparing him with that one night with Ross.
And let’s all give a hearty cheer for Aidan Turner as the anti-hero Ross, who cut quite the dash in his scarlet captain’s uniform.
No wonder young gels and maiden aunts were prone to fainting back in the day.
PLEASE STOP HARPING ON ABOUT 'POPPY PRESSURE'
CAN I gently ask all of those who are harrumphing about feeling “pressurised” into wearing a poppy, or who are making a lot of noise about deciding not to wear this annual mark of remembrance and respect, to get over themselves.
The only reason they have any choice in the matter is because of the bravery and sacrifice of those who died in wars against tyranny and fascism.
If you don’t wish to honour the dead, then don’t. But kindly shut up about it and let the rest of us mark this poignant time of the year in peace