I usually read Richard Drax’s Friday column with interest.

Occasionally Mr Drax comes up with some good common sense. But when it comes to more serious and complex issues, such as the need to recognise international law, or the intricacies of the US election, Mr Drax seems to disappear into a parallel universe where facts and reality are optional.

In his latest column (Friday 6th), Mr Drax is perplexed by the division and prejudice surrounding the election in the United States - how can it be that 92% of the US media is “anti-Trump”?

By “anti-Trump” I infer that Richard means - politely asking Mr Trump to provide evidence of his many rambling accusations or hold him accountable for his behaviour.

Mr Drax obviously prefers to get his news from the more shadowy side of the internet, much favoured by Trump, where the most outrageous lies go unchallenged, with his latest suggestion that Biden is senile. Mr Drax suggests that “prejudice is drowning the public mood”.

The truth is fundamentally different - lies and misinformation are feeding prejudice which is inflaming divisions and damaging democracy.

One point I will concede. It is astounding that around 70 million Americans could actually vote for Trump, despite the overwhelming evidence of his total unsuitability for the job.

President Trump now cuts a sad and lonely figure, and despite the repugnance of his behaviour, I can’t help feeling somewhat sorry for him.

Let’s hope that American politics can survive the trauma of the Trump years, now thankfully nearly over, and extract itself from the repulsive mire in which it has recently wallowed.

MARK GUGAN

Dorchester