Most of the rest of the world finds itself in the curious position of hoping that the next President of the United States of America is a liar and a hypocrite. The exception may be Russia, which would prefer to take Donald Trump at his word. But otherwise, the turmoil of the presidential election campaign has been followed by the even more confusing turmoil of policy rethinks and blatant U-turns. It has been said of the explosive hyperbole that marked his candidacy that while opponents took him literally but not seriously, supporters took him seriously but not literally. The man himself appears indifferent to his own inconsistencies.

For many Americans, the gravest fear is that after his inauguration on 20 January, President Trump will begin to jeopardise many hard-won human rights and civil liberties, adding further coarsening to the public debate in a deeply divided country, on top of the damage he has already inflicted on it. This is not a good time to be a Muslim-American or a Mexican-American. However Mr Trump is showing himself, post-election, to be just as much a pragmatist now as he was a provocateur before.