Britain’s former Strongest Woman has revealed how lifting weights during her pregnancy helped her maintain high levels of fitness – despite a barrage of hate.

Shannon Smith, 30, from Royton, Oldham, has been lifting weights throughout her pregnancy, from the day she found out she was expecting until two days before her due date.

The professional weightlifter even competed during her pregnancy, lifting a remarkable 200kg two days before her daughter Nancy was due to give birth.

Shannon said: ‘It doesn’t make sense for me to stop during pregnancy. This is something I’ve been doing for the last 10 or 11 years of my life – it’s pretty much my life. I felt safe doing it.

‘When I was 36 weeks pregnant, a lot of people said to me, I could barely put on my shoes at this point, or I could barely walk. While I was just living my normal life.’

When Shannon found out she was pregnant, she had no intention of pausing her weightlifting journey and tried to maintain her fitness by continuing in the gym.

Throughout the pregnancy, the ever-competitive Shannon continued with her deadlifts and powerlifting and even competed in local competitions – training for hours about five times a week.

As she neared the end of her pregnancy, Shannon lifted about 400 pounds, but two days before her due date she said she felt “strong” and pushed for a 400-pound deadlift — and she succeeded.

The weightlifter then posted her feat on social media, causing a firestorm online with millions of views, but she also received hate for the post.

She said many people were concerned about the safety aspect of her weightlifting and criticized her for lifting so late in her pregnancy.

However, she claimed that it was completely safe for her to continue lifting weights during her pregnancy as she had been doing so all her life.

Shannon gave birth to her daughter Nancy less than a week after lifting 200kg. She is completely healthy and has already been to the gym for the very first time.

Newborn Nancy was taken to the gym at four days old to get used to the environment, as Shannon and her husband Paul are both professional weightlifters.

Looking back on her pregnancy, Shannon said weightlifting helped her body cope with the stress of carrying a baby.

Now Shannon hopes Nancy grows up and follows in her footsteps as a weightlifter, and she said her genetics would be suited to the gym.

She said: ‘She will grow up in the gyms and because my partner and I are both strong, she will have good genetics for it.

‘Four days after giving birth I went back to the gym, but it was light because I had to get my pelvic floor and my abs back to where they were. So it will take a few months to get back to that strength level.

‘I also took part in a powerlifting competition when I was eight months pregnant. So that gave me a bit of a goal to continue to increase my strength, but within a level that I was capable of.”

Shannon continued, “I still had some kind of purpose and some kind of competitiveness with myself and to push everything forward, but as the months went by, there were certain exercises that I had to phase out and I kept doing the exercises that felt the safest. for me.

‘The heaviest weight I lifted while pregnant was a deadlift of 200 kilos. I did 155 kilos on a squat and then some overhead presses of about 85 kilos. Most of them were about 90 percent of my previous records before I was pregnant.

‘I think it also helped with the post-birth recovery because now, five days after giving birth, a lot of people wouldn’t really leave the house or do much at this stage, and I’m already back in the gym.

‘It felt comfortable with deadlifts and squats. It just took some time to get used to the change in center of mass.

‘For women who have always taken it, it’s fine to continue with it, especially if you have an uncomplicated pregnancy. If you have problems with high blood pressure, preeclampsia, or if you have a placenta that is under a baby, this can cause problems.

‘Most women will know when they’re going too far and I know when to dial it back a little. The gym was the safest [place] I felt that my entire pregnancy!’

Speaking on the subject, Doctor Lawrence Cunningham from the UK Care Guide said: ‘In my experience, pregnancy does not necessarily stop women from carrying out their regular fitness routines, even at an advanced level such as lifting 200kg.

‘However, lifting more than 200kg just a few days before your due date is not something common or advised without very specific considerations.

‘Safety will depend greatly on their pre-pregnancy fitness level, their weightlifting experience and their health during pregnancy.

‘I have seen cases where professional athletes managed to maintain a high level of activity during their pregnancy without any ill effects.

‘However, this should not be considered the norm and should not be interpreted as a blanket endorsement for all pregnant individuals.

‘I always recommend that anyone who is pregnant, especially those engaged in high-intensity activities such as weightlifting, have a thorough consultation with their GP.

‘This includes continuous monitoring of their health and the health of the fetus, in addition to adjustments to their routine as the pregnancy progresses.’

He concluded: ‘It is essential to listen to the body’s signals and reduce intensity if necessary. In addition, maintaining proper form and technique becomes even more important to prevent injuries.”

A SLIM thicc fashionista has revealed she’s found the perfect co-ord set on ASOS – and you can wear it all year round.

Carla Kent, 27, describes herself as “your petite curvy bestie” and regularly delights her 131,000 Instagram followers (@carlakentx) with her groceries.

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The Glasgow-based make-up artist is happy to help other shoppers find outfits that flatter their figure.

She previously reminded her fellow curvaceous fashionistas that “curvy girls can wear hot pants too.”

And she’s proven it again after buying a £18 pair in a leopard animal print from ASOS.

She paired it with the matching mesh cardigan, priced at £22.

The combination set is available online in sizes XS-L, suitable for sizes 4-18.

Modeling it in a photo, Carla said: “My favorite fit ever.

“Size down for the top, which is a small, and the shorts are a medium.”

Her post quickly earned compliments on social media, with fashion fans loving her look.

“Okay, I need it,” one gushed.

A second wrote: “You are a sweetheart.”

Meanwhile, a third added: “Omg you look amazing! I need it.”

Influencer Carla was back on our TV screens this year when reality show The Agency: Unfiltered returned for a second season on BBC Scotland.

The new series followed again Aquarius CreativeScotland’s largest influencer agency, founders Kirsten Cameron and Amy Moore, and their clients.

In just one year, series one and two of the show have now reached a total of over 1 million streams.

Kirsten said: “We are very humbled by the response to the series. I think its success lies in its ability to share the authentic side of the influencing world. It reveals the reality behind the messages.”

Amy added: “We’re so pleased that the second series has had such an incredible response so far – it means so much to us that audiences are coming out to see it in such huge numbers and resonate with them so much.

“We never expected the series to be such a success, so it’s truly amazing to see both series reach over 1 million streams.”

The first and second seasons of The Agency: Unfiltered can be viewed on BBC iPlayer.

Throughout history, people have been drawn to things that promise them youth, longevity and fertility. Many products on supermarket shelves today promise the same things. A key difference between modern times and the past is that science has given people a way to see if something is really effective or not. Before this, there was a lot more pseudoscience and snake oil being promoted as a solution to people’s insecurities.

For example, almost every food is linked to it improvement of libido at some point in the past. Today there are still many. Could everything ever eaten really be an aphrodisiac? No evidence proves anything except that alcohol increases desire, but it can also decrease a person’s libido. The rest are just normal foods, and some are quite far removed from what could be considered ‘sexy’.

So here are ten perfectly normal foods that were historically thought to be aphrodisiacs, and the stories of how they got their reputation.

Related: Top 10 Bizarre Ways Food Was Discovered

10 Beans

Still a staple of many diets, the humble bean comes in many varieties and has been cultivated for thousands of years. But centuries before they became Hannibal Lecter’s famous side dish, they were thought to be an aphrodisiac. They had this reputation in early modern England, roughly between the 16th and 18th centuries. During this time, there were four main ways in which food could be considered an aphrodisiac.

There were foods that felt warm or warmed the body, foods that were thought to be particularly nutritious, and foods that fell under the “doctrine of signatures,” that is, they resembled certain parts of the body. The final category was the very unsexy sounding ‘flatulent flesh’. These were foods that caused flatulence, such as beans. It was thought that the same air emitted when people passed wind also inflated men in preparation for the bedroom. Beans and peas were prescribed to men who had problems in this department. ^[1]

9 Mustard

One food thought to have the aphrodisiac from the heat was mustard. The sensation comes from the mustard plant’s natural defense mechanism, which releases compounds called isothiocyanates to irritate and poison pests that try to eat the plant. The dazzling “bite” people feel when they eat mustard happens when these compounds come into contact with pain-stimulating proteins in their mouths. The intensity is tempered by other ingredients, such as vinegar.

People have enjoyed this effect since ancient times. The Romans even grew mustard throughout Gaul, modern-day France, once they conquered it. When monastic communities emerged throughout Europe, they took over its production. Well, at least some of them. While many of these holy men refined and perfected the production of mustard, other monks believed it to be an aphrodisiac. Not wanting to be tempted to stray from their chaste path, many of these monks forbade themselves from eating or making the seasoning.^[2]

8 Potatoes

While monks did their best to avoid aphrodisiacs, those who led less spiritual lives were willing to gobble them up. A reflection of this can be found in Shakespeare’s play The Merry Women of Windsor. In the play, Shakespeare’s regular comic character, John Falstaff, is a hapless wannabe Lothario. Although his intentions and actions are not exactly godly, when he meets the women in the forest, he prays for what at first seems like a very strange request. “Let the sky rain potatoes,” he says.

Despite the character’s love of food and drink, he doesn’t mean this literally. What he’s really asking for is success and, more importantly, competence among the ladies. The expression would have made perfect sense to Shakespeare and his contemporaries, because in the 16th and 17th centuries potatoes were widely believed to have aphrodisiac properties. Falstaff was probably referring to sweet potatoes, which had been around much longer than the white potatoes that arrived later from America.^[3]

7 Carrots

Many people were told as children that carrots were good for their eyes or would help them see in the dark. However, the ancient Greeks and Romans would have heard that they were indeed good for something completely different, but probably not when they were children. Carrots, like most vaguely phallic vegetables, were thought to be an aphrodisiac that eased the inhibitions of people who ate enough of them. Before the medieval doctrine of signatures, the shape of the vegetables was not a strict rule; the Romans also thought that cucumbers cooled your desires.

But the effect of carrots was widely accepted in ancient times. Caligula, the notoriously lecherous Roman emperor, believed it. It is said that he once forcibly fed carrots to the Senate so that they would be overwhelmed by their desires and disgrace themselves before him. Roman soldiers were also known to cook a root broth for the females they captured.^[4]

6 Eggplant

Using this fruit – yes, fruit – as a visual euphemism is hardly a new idea, and it certainly didn’t start with smartphones. In fact, it is not unique to Western cultures either; the similarity to the male organ can be found in Korean literature and Japanese haikus. Beliefs about its aphrodisiac effects have been found throughout history in Asia, Africa and Europe. In 16th century France it was even known as ‘pomme d’amour’ or ‘love apple’. But the belief in its aphrodisiac effects was probably not based solely on its appearance, nor was this the only effect it would have.

Eggplants belong to the same family as deadly nightshade, which is very poisonous and can have really strong effects. The same applies to the love apples, which also belong to the same family. Although eggplants had been cultivated for thousands of years and were widely eaten throughout Asia, many cultures believed that the fruit also had some side effects. It is sometimes thought that eggplants are not only an aphrodisiac, but also stimulate the appetite, cause fever, drive people crazy and even cause leprosy.^[5]

5 Parsnip

Anyone who has ever eaten parsnips with honey probably didn’t realize that what they were eating used to be a luxury. In ancient times, the patricians of Rome enjoyed the sweetened vegetables. One person said to have been particularly fond of them was Emperor Tiberius. The story goes that the emperor, after getting a taste for it in Germany, had parsnips imported to Rome and accepted them as part of the tribute that the Germanic tribes had to pay him.

However, the taste of parsnips may not have been the only thing the Romans enjoyed. Like carrots, their shape may have reminded people of something else, and over time these too came to be considered aphrodisiacs. Not only the Romans thought this way. In 17th century England, they were one of several foods believed to help in the bedroom and that could be prescribed to married couples.^[6]

4 Almonds

Parsnips were traditionally used to sweeten meals, but when sugar came on the scene, it became the sweetener of choice. Sugar is more versatile and can be used for smaller foods such as almonds. The result is Jordan almonds, also known as ‘dragees’ or ‘Italian confetti’. These are candy-coated almonds, which are often associated with weddings. Although the origin of the name ‘Jordan’ is disputed, with some saying it comes from the French for ‘garden’ and others claiming it refers to the Jordan River in Palestine, it is no mystery why the sweet snack is associated with weddings.

In many Middle Eastern countries, almonds are thought to be an aphrodisiac. This is part of the reason why Jordan almonds are given as gifts to newlyweds in certain cultures. But the way they are presented also has symbolic meaning for the happy couple. They are often given in bags of five, because five is an indivisible number. And each almond represents one of the guest’s wishes for the newlyweds: health, children, wealth, longevity and happiness.^[7]

3 Coconuts

Cacao is a food that has long been believed to increase cravings, and many people still believe this today. Coconuts, on the other hand, are not generally considered an aphrodisiac. But there is evidence that they occurred at a surprising time: in medieval Germany. Unlike the memorable scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grailwhere King Arthur tries to explain how his servant came into possession of coconuts, the fruits were found throughout Europe in the Middle Ages.

They were imported from India and were especially popular in England. They were used in medicine, but were especially sought after for their shells, which were used to make cups and beakers. These were popular from the 13th century. As exotic items, it is no surprise that they were originally thought to have magical properties. It was thought that in addition to arousing desire, they could also detect poison.^[8]

2 Salad

To the ancient Egyptians, lettuce was not the simple salad staple that it is today. It had a special place in their society, so much so that they painted it on the walls of tombs more than 4,000 years ago. It is even mentioned in myths about their gods. It was said to be the food of Min, the Egyptian god of fertility. In paintings, Min is a man usually depicted as “ready for action,” and the Egyptians believed that it was lettuce that helped him stay that way and never tire. Why?

Like many other so-called aphrodisiacs, this was due to its appearance. It becomes straight, long and strong. When part of a romaine lettuce is broken off, a white milky liquid comes out. The jury is still out on whether it can really make people perform tirelessly in the bedroom or whether they will suddenly want to go there, but it is rich in vitamin A, which is good for the reproductive systems of both sexes.^[9]

1 Beer

Why have people always thought that some foods were aphrodisiacs? One possibility is the placebo effect. They hear and believe that certain foods will have an effect, so when they eat them, they do. It is also possible that all foods can have some kind of aphrodisiac effect. When food is scarce, an individual’s desire to reproduce is likely to decrease, an effect also seen in other species. So the opposite could also be true. Nevertheless, current scientific evidence supports only one common substance linked to arousal. It’s no surprise that it’s alcohol.

However, the aphrodisiac effect may have weakened over the years, especially in the case of beer. Before the 18th century, beer in Europe was flavored with a combination of herbs called gruit instead of hops. The ingredients in gruit varied depending on where it was made, but sometimes included stimulating herbs, making the beer considered an aphrodisiac. The hops that eventually, and almost universally, replaced gruit were thought to have the opposite effect.^[10]

If you've been looking at your sneakers lately and think it's time to buy a new pair, we have a suggestion you should consider: the Hoka Bondi 8 sneakers. They may look just like any other pair of shoes you have your eye on buying, but they're pretty special: not only are they the perfect walking and running shoes, but they're also an actress favorite. Olivia Wilde – and a whole host of other celebrities!

Were talking Harry Styles, Jennifer Garner And Reese Witherspoon, t00. They can't get enough of the Hoka sneakers, and not just because they look good. They feel good too! There's a reason Olivia wears her trusty Hoka Bondi 8 to her workouts and back. These shoes are filled with lightweight foam to support your feet, an open mesh upper with a breathable lining and a padded tongue and collar to ensure your feet are as comfortable as possible. One interesting thing about them: they have a “Meta-Rocker” sole that cushions your feet as you walk or run, for a better heel-to-toe transition.

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Dresses don't have to be high-maintenance fashion. They can just be fun, casual pieces that you can throw on whenever you want. There doesn't have to be a big event surrounding putting on a dress. The best dress to apply this philosophy to is a T-shirt dress, namely one that you can wear with or without tights or leggings.

Universal Standard is a great place to find dresses like this, especially if you want to keep up with what's cool in the fashion world. We've found the absolutely perfect T-shirt dress that you can simply throw on and take anywhere.

Grab the Belle compact jersey dress with Breton stripes for only $92 at Universal Standard!

The Belle compact jersey dress with Breton stripes at Universal Standard it's only $92, and you'll get a lot of mileage out of it. It looks just like your favorite striped T-shirt, only longer and flattering. Most importantly, it's ridiculously comfortable.

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It's made from yarn-dyed, compact-knit jersey that feels like curling up in your favorite shirt. Plus, it has a boat neck with short sleeves, making it a dress that's perfect for just about any season, depending on how you dress it. And you can also get the stripes in different shades. This will quickly become one of your favorite pieces.

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Don't think too much about dresses. If you want one that you know you will look good in and feel comfortable in, this is one of your best choices. Don't be fooled by the price: you're paying for quality, and you'll always walk out of your house looking fantastic. Make sure you get one before they go out of stock so you're ready to pick out the perfect shoes to pair with.

MANCHESTER UNITED fans pranked Kalvin Phillips by mocking his weight as he warmed up.

The midfielder is on loan from rival Manchester City to West Ham, while the Hammers visit Old Trafford on Sunday.

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The Red Devils had a comfortable 3-0 win as Phillips played the final 18 minutes from the bench.

The United faithful enjoyed the show of young players Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho, both of whom were on the scoresheet.

But they also had plenty of entertainment around Phillips as he warmed up on the sidelines.

Fans booed the England star, chanting: “Phillips, show us your t**s. Phillips, Phillips show us your t**s”.

The former Leeds ace obliged and, with a smile on his face, lifted his bib to show off his chest – much to the amusement of the supporters sitting in the stands.

It is not the first time Phillips has been subjected to such treatment at Old Trafford, with fans singing the same song when the midfielder visited Manchester City in January 2023.

It came after Pep Guardiola dropped Phillips from his squad after claiming he returned from the World Cup in England overweight.

Guardiola said: “He is not injured, he arrived overweight.

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“He didn't get in the condition to train and play. That's why he can't play.”

“When he is ready, he will play because we need him, we need him very much.”

A FASHION influencer has fallen head over heels in love with her Valentine's Day dress.

Not only is the dress perfect for the season of love, but it is also sure to catch the eye.

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Nicole (@nicolewatchorn) shared her messages with more than 20,000 TikTok followers.

The 23-year-old said she was confident she had found the perfect dress for Oh Polly's romantic day.

“I am 100% sure this will be the Valentine's Day dress for IT girls this year,” she said.

Nicole explained that she was sure the dress would be incredibly popular because when she bought it, it was sold out in every size except hers.

She held up the red dress and was left speechless as she showed off the giant cut-out heart on the chest.

“This is the most Valentine's Day a Valentine's Day dress can get,” she said.

In a sequel videoNicole revealed her pass that she couldn't obsess over anymore.

“It suits me so perfectly, I feel so beautiful and I love it,” she said.

Although the dress is sold out at Oh Polly, the brand has similar heart-themed dresses for the big day.

a A $130 long dress with red hearts on the chest shouted love.

The dress also comes in black for those looking for something vampy.

On a limited budget or looking for a dupe? This $22 Shein dress looks a lot like Nicole's latest pickup.

One viewer thought the dress reminded them of something a pop star IT girl would wear.

“So Sabrina Carpenter coded,” they said.

Others agreed they couldn't sleep on the stunning red number.

“Omg, it looks great on you! Yes, we all need one!” said one viewer.

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If Trump really is so uniquely appalling, how come tens of millions of perfectly reasonable Americans want him back in the Whitehouse, writes FREDDY GRAY:

Let the howling and gnashing of teeth begin. Following his thumping victory in Iowa on Monday night and with a commanding lead going into Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary, Donald Trump looks nailed on to secure the Republican Party’s nomination for the US presidency.

Barring death or some obscure legal intervention, he will go on to face the failing, ailing Joe Biden again in November’s election.

As things stand, the pollsters and bookmakers suggest that this time he will win.

Cue another great panic about the end of the free world as we know it. Left-liberal commentators are lining up to parade their despair. Political leaders and media experts gravely inform us that, in his second term, Trump will be ever more radical and dangerous. He’ll turn America into a dictatorship and upend the international ‘rules-based’ order, we are told. ‘All-out war is what Trump wants,’ says Biden.

Such dread-mongering might be more effective if we hadn’t heard it all so often in the eight years since Donald Trump stunned the world by beating Hillary Clinton to the presidency in 2016.

Less hysterical observers are inclined to ask: if Trump really is so uniquely appalling, why do tens of millions of voters want him back in the White House?

Americans aren’t nearly as stupid as we Brits like to think. Having lived through three years of Biden’s presidency, vast numbers of the US electorate now believe that another four years of Donald may be better for America – and the planet — than five more of Joe. They aren’t wrong, necessarily.

Biden promised he’d bring ‘normalcy’ after the chaos of the Trump years. In the midst of the Covid pandemic, almost everybody wanted to believe him. Yet the world has become considerably less stable with Biden in charge.

His shambolic withdrawal from Afghanistan emboldened the enemies of the West and now we have disastrous wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. That just didn’t happen under his predecessor. From 2016 to 2020, Trump’s mad-man approach to international affairs frightened diplomats the world over, but it worked.

By waging a trade war with China, he drew the free world’s attention to its greatest challenger.

By mixing ‘fire and fury’ brinkmanship with oleaginous flattery, he appeased the ‘rocket man’ Kim Jong Un in North Korea. And by tearing up Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Tehran and assassinating the regime’s hard-man Qasem Soleimani, he weakened Iran.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Trump came closer than any other president to achieving peace in the Holy Land. Through his Jewish son-in-law Jared Kushner, and his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, he brokered the Abraham Accords, which did more to harmonise Israel’s relations with its Gulf neighbours than all previous US endeavours. Biden would never admit it but his administration had to accept the logic of Trump’s Middle East strategy and continue the push for a further formal agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

At the same time, however, Biden reverted to the contradictory Obama-era policy of accommodating Iran, Israel’s most implacable enemy. It may be unfair to blame the current occupant of the Oval Office for the fact that, on October 7, Iran’s proxy Hamas attacked Israel. But there’s a good case to be made that Biden’s muddled approach has helped destabilise the region.

Maybe Trump was just a fortunate foreign-policy president in his first term. He didn’t lead long enough for his bluster and brinkmanship to be found out.

Yet, to adapt Napoleon’s famous phrase, we’d all rather have a commander-in-chief who is lucky than one who is good.

Biden’s supporters like to say that Trump would never have stood up to Russia over Ukraine. But Republicans can answer that their man’s unpredictability would have deterred Vladimir Putin from launching his terrible invasion – just as China’s Xi Jinping might be more nervous about invading Taiwan with Trump rather than Biden at the Resolute desk.

Trump tells crowds that he warned Putin off Ukraine by telling him he would respond by bombing Moscow. ‘He sort of believed me, like five per cent, ten per cent,’ he says. ‘That’s all you need.’ That’s typical Trump braggadocio. It also might be true.

Trump boasts that, if given office again, he will end the Ukraine war in 24 hours. America’s Western allies fear he will simply reward Putin’s aggression by forcing Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky to make territorial concessions. But the reality is that all wars end in negotiations.

Indeed, there are signs that the Biden administration is coming round to just such a conclusion. Latest reports suggest that, as Russian missiles continue to batter Ukraine, the White House is now pushing Zelensky to sue for peace.

Trump was mocked last year when he told a CNN audience: ‘I don’t think in terms of winning or losing… I just want everybody to stop dying.’ Is that really such a mad position today?

The broader concern about Trump is that his ‘America first’ mantra means he will abandon US allies, including Britain, and withdraw from Nato. European diplomats are particularly concerned about a sentence on his campaign website that reads: ‘We have to finish the process we began under my administration of fundamentally re-evaluating Nato’s purpose and Nato’s mission.’

But it’s more likely that Trump would continue his first-term agenda of pushing European powers to spend more on defence – and that’s no bad thing. The faltering effort to arm Ukraine has proved that, in an increasingly dangerous world, Europe’s armed forces are woefully underfunded and underprepared. Trump’s almost comically robust style would mean four more years of exhausting drama on the world stage, especially when it comes to China. But it’s not as if the Biden administration has succeeded in taming the superpower dragon in the East.

Joe Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken has pursued a policy towards Beijing that is, as he puts it, ‘competitive when it should be, collaborative when it can be, and adversarial when it must be’. This softer approach may be less nerve-racking, in the short term, but China’s increasingly authoritarian leader Xi shows little sign of playing nice in response. China refuses to accept responsibility for the catastrophe of Covid, continues to menace Taiwan and – when it comes to acquiring critical Western assets – shows no sign of ending its buying spree.

Biden has pledged to work with Beijing to stop the export of the Chinese-made chemicals used to illegally make potentially deadly drugs such as fentanyl. According to the US Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking, however, the flow continues ‘unabated’, and last year 73,000 Americans died from overdoses of the powerful painkiller. Trump, by contrast, has warned China that, ‘if they do not clamp down’ on the opioid trade, ‘they will pay a steep price’. He further promises to ‘stop all Chinese purchases’ of ‘essential industries’ and has vowed ‘to begin the process of forcing the Chinese to sell any current holdings that put our national security at risk’.

Such talk alarms diplomats and big businesses. But it may well produce better results.

If re-elected, Trump would slap more tariffs on all foreign goods to protect American industry.

But is Biden really so different? He may sound more internationalist at global leadership summits but his green commitments and his mis-named Inflation Reduction Act are really sly attempts to freeze out European competition, especially electric cars, from American markets.

Unlike almost every other Western leader, Trump doesn’t pretend to care to about Net Zero carbon targets – or what he calls ‘the green new deal nonsense’. That’s bad news for environmentalists but good for the working classes, who are expected – through taxation – to pay for the vast expenditure that Western governments will shell out as they push big business towards their unrealistic low-carbon utopia.

Trump’s nationalism is more straightforward. For all his protectionism, he is an American capitalist at heart. At a time when low-tax economics is out of fashion, he continues to be shamelessly committed to free enterprise.

Whereas a second-term Biden would try to fund his trillion-dollar spending programmes by raising taxes for corporations and the rich, a re-elected Trump would seek to extend the tax cuts he introduced in 2017. His approach would turbo-charge American businesses – the real engine of the global economy – and that would benefit everyone.

For Brits, in particular, Trump would make a welcome change from Biden, who – for all his boasts about his Irish ancestry – is actually English on his father’s side.

In a bid to overcome this inconvenient accident of birth, Biden seems to feel the need to burnish his Irish identity by turning his nose up at the US-UK relationship. On a trip to Northern Ireland last year he said he wanted to ‘make sure the Brits didn’t screw around’ with the peace process.

Trump, by contrast, is an Anglophile, who is proud of his maternal Scottishness and reveres the British monarchy. He also, in theory at least, still wants that much-vaunted ‘beautiful, beautiful’ trade deal with Brexit Britain, which the Biden administration has all but ruled out.

It’s also possible that, for all his talk of ‘revenge’ and ‘retribution’ in 2024, Trump will attempt to be a less divisive figure as he heads towards a second term.

In his victory speech on Monday, he appealed for unity. ‘I really think this is time now for everybody, our country, to come together,’ he said. ‘We want to come together, whether it’s a Republican or a Democrat or liberal or conservative.’

Fat chance, you might think. But election results can make people change. It’s not just that Trump might become more emollient. His opponents, having failed to stop him after eight years of exhaustive efforts, might finally resign themselves to his success – or at least try harder to understand why, in spite of everything, so many still voted for him.

Trump won power in 2016 in large part because, with his mind- blowing political incorrectness, he tapped into growing concerns about immigration. He never finished building his wall on America’s southern border, but the idea is not nearly as controversial as it was eight years ago.

Indeed, the Biden administration, facing an unprecedented surge in illegal crossings, is itself now constructing new physical barriers in Texas. In 2023, federal agents encountered a record 2.5 million migrants coming from Mexico. If Trump is re-elected, it will be because Americans trust him more than the Democrats to tackle the issue. And this time his tough solutions cannot so easily be condemned as pure xenophobia.

Yes, Trump’s egomania, crude rhetoric and refusal to accept that he lost the 2020 election will always be off-putting. In an ideal world, Right-wing America would not select a Republican candidate who talks about immigrants ‘poisoning the blood of our country’ and is the subject of no fewer than 91 felony counts.

We don’t get to choose who Americans vote for, though. We are where we are. Rather than tut-tutting at the state of democracy, it’s time we recognise that, for all his flaws, a second Trump term could be a lot better than the alternative.

Freddy Gray is deputy editor of The Spectator

By Freddy Pawle for Daily Mail Australia

Published: 6:35 AM EST, December 25, 2023 | Updated: 06:44 EST, December 25, 2023

Forget exotic holidays to the Maldives and the Caribbean, for example; If money were no object, an ideal Christmas for Brits would be a country house.

This is evident from a survey in which they were asked about the elements that would make up their perfect Christmas day, resulting in a ranking with 24 entries.

When asked to choose between a tropical destination or a staycation, two-thirds (66 percent) chose the latter, with 26 percent naming a country house as the location of their festive dreams, putting this idea joint fourth on the list to stand. , in addition to enjoying Christmas cocktails.

Nearly one in three want a private chef to prepare Christmas lunch (28 percent, joint third), the same number would pay for someone to arrange a perfectly laid table (28 percent, joint third), while over a third (35 percent) percent, second) would like to wake up to a thick layer of snow.

Of the 2,000 adults surveyed in the survey, which was commissioned by the National Lottery, 24 percent said a private cinema screen to watch Christmas films was a priority, putting it in sixth place.

Having people who can help throughout the day features prominently on the list, with help with serving and washing up lunch ranking fifth (25 percent), a hairstylist thirteenth (10 percent) and a personal stylist in fourteenth place (eight per percent). cents).

In fact, 50 percent of Brits said it would be the most luxurious thing to not have to cook or clean at Christmas.

Also on the list, in joint seventh place, were an indoor swimming pool (20 per cent), fire pits (20 per cent), a three-metre tree (20 per cent) and proximity to a pub with a roaring fire. (20 per cent).

In joint eighth place were fireworks in the evening (19 percent), real champagne on ice (19 percent) and having more than one Christmas tree in the house (19 percent).

And the British love traditional festive food, with turkey and all the trimmings (40 percent, first) at the top of their Christmas wish lists, despite cash being no object.

Susan Crossland, who won £1.2million on the National Lottery in 2008, is still having a very traditional Christmas despite her life-changing Lotto win.

Susan said: ‘For me, Christmas is about being at home with all my family. It may sound like a cliché, but it couldn’t be more true.

‘We have a very traditional Christmas, complete with a big turkey dinner and all the trimmings for the fifteen of us.

‘Personally, I don’t think I could ever be away for Christmas. I absolutely love the run-up to the big day itself and try to get my three 2-meter trees up as early as possible so that we can enjoy the festive atmosphere for as long as possible!’

Despite 71 percent agreeing that spending time with loved ones is the most important thing during the festive season, 60 percent admit they would like to have an intimate Christmas with just their immediate family if possible.

Andy Carter, Senior Winners Advisor at the National Lottery, said: ‘I have met many winners over the years and although everyone’s Christmas traditions are different, spending it with family and friends is always the most important.’