Sir John Falstaff is Shakespeare’s most popular character.  Not necessarily in order, he is cruel, a liar, a cheat, a fraud, a coward, a drunk, and a womaniser.  That’s on a good day.

Dr Johnson said:

….no man is more dangerous than he that with a will to corrupt hath the power to please; and that neither wit nor honesty ought to think themselves safe with such a companion when they see Henry seduced by Falstaff.

I don’t think Prince Hal was seduced by Falstaff.  I think it was the other way round.  Hal played him along and then ratted on him.  Dr Johnson and others like Tillyard won’t come at this.  But so many of the old idolisers want to protect both Hal and Sir John. 

Sir Antony Quayle played Falstaff a lot.  He knew all about the fat knight.  He said Falstaff was ‘frankly vicious’ – which he plainly was.

So we have to come to grips with this susceptibility of ours when looking at a ratbag like Trump.  ‘Frailty – thy name is human.’

Trump has at least two things in common with Falstaff.  He says things that those whom Dr Johnson described as the ‘vulgar’ love to hear and would love to be able to say themselves.  And he is put there to blow up and obliterate the Establishment – which they could never ever aspire to.  Just as Trump could never have aspired to either.

And then look at Nigel Farage.

Trump – Farage and the like.