RNC 2020: What to expect from Trump’s coronavirus-marred coronation

Joe Sommerlad looks at the upcoming ceremony that will see the president formally nominated to take on Joe Biden, an event downsized and pushed online by the pandemic to the candidate's evident frustration

Trump will have a difficult job convincing most that they are better off now than they were in 2016 (EPA)

Donald Trump appears to see no distinction between the powers of his office and that of a despotic medieval monarch, often operating with blithe disregard for the niceties of the constitution or the moderating role of Congress.

“When you strike at a king, you must kill him,” he tweeted on 15 February, misquoting Ralph Waldo Emerson as his Senate impeachment trial approached its climax.

This president likes to berate his corporate enemies with the threat that he can vanquish their fortunes with the flourish of his signature across an executive order, or tank their stock price with a single frothing tweet, a stunt he tried on Goodyear Tyres last week.