US presidential election hopeful Donald Trump seems to have no grasp on how he should act as a leading world statesman.
More and more it seems the outspoken maverick is trying to lie his way to the White House.
Take his remarks about his relationship with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
Trump says he spoke directly and indirectly with Putin – but after this was questioned he admitted that this relationship was just the two saying good things about each other. He confirmed he had never met or spoken to Putin.
The Putin relationship is just one of the many lies Trump tells with seeming impunity.
Lies and innuendo
Much like the disgraceful flim-flam spouted by British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson during the Brexit campaign, what Trump seems to say is just treated as Trump being Trump.
Now Trump has claimed that President Barack Obama was one of the founders of terror organisation Islamic State.
The argument is obviously laughable and untrue, but once Trump has said it, it’s out there and even if he apologises or makes excuses afterwards, people hear the accusation and not the apology.
The presidential race has degenerated into Trump making wild statements and apologising later for his errors, while Democrat rival Hillary Clinton and her supporter Obama depict him as a man who can be trusted to run the country.
They may have a point, but Trump’s response is they would say that wouldn’t they?
What does Trump really stand for?
Behind all the hyperbole and rhetoric, what Trump actually stands for is not clear.
He talks about making America great again, about clamping down on immigrants and tackling American enemies.
However, he is not specific about the how and why he plans to do this or how much this will cost and where the money is coming from.
He seems to fail to grasp that the past has gone forever and isolationism failed then and will fail again in a world where global communication and interdependency leads the way.
Trump is even losing support in his own party as 70 senior Republicans accuse him of damaging their re-election chances by being divisive and dangerous.