I overheard a far from polite political debate between two men in a cafe in Taunton recently.
One was spouting bile about Sir Keir Starmer while the other chose some flowery language to lay into Kemi Badenoch.
There was at least agreement - (not positive observations) - on Nigel Farage.
The conversation jolted to a sudden conclusion when one of them raised his voice, accusing the other man of talking out of a certain part of his anatomy.
As far as I know, that particular feat has never actually been achieved.
Any sounds I’ve ever heard exiting that specific body part were definitely not words.
Which, if you’ll excuse the attempt at schoolboy humour, brings us to Trump.
You could write a book about some of the horrific statements made by the leader of the western world - and, in his own mind, the Big Cheese of the universe.
His insults, profanities, and lies are well documented.
Recently, he angrily exploded the F-bomb while warning the leaders of two other nations to refrain from dropping real bombs on each other.
More civilised?
Back in the UK, it would be nice to think our politicians were a civilised lot. Maybe they are compared to Trump and co;, but they’re certainly no saints.
The House of Commons can be noisy and rude, while we’ve witnessed MPs on TV planting right hooks on members of the public.
You rarely hear our politicians use Trumpian language, but I bet they drop their guard away from public view.
A fly on the wall would have shuddered at the language probably flying around when Labour MPs discussed the latest Starmer/Rachel Reeves U-turn or Conservative politicians heard the string of revelations about Boris Johnson’s Partygate antics.
Scandals seem to have been part and parcel of UK politics over the years - expenses swindles, sexual dalliances, cash for access for starters.
Trust in and respect for our politicians has sunk to an all-time low in recent decades.
So is it any wonder the public get all heated about politics?
But while we get the representation we deserve - after all we vote them in - it’s equally true that politicians get the electorate they deserve, which they discover every five years or so.
*Next week I’ll explain how some kids who were just 10 at the last election cold potentially vote in the next national poll.
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