We’ve seen this story before. Donald Trump offered voters something different. He spoke to their anger, and told them about his plans to “Make America Great Again”. In response, Hillary Clinton ran a campaign perpetually on the back foot – triangulating to avoid standing for anything too controversial, and presenting herself as the safe anti-Trump. If the Democrats had listened more carefully, they might have heard millions of Americans saying they weren’t too pleased with the last several decades of US politics. Clinton’s reply? Choose me. I’ve been in politics for 30 years.

The appeal was dull enough to lose even a supposedly “unlose-able” election against the gaffe-prone Trump, a disaster compounded by our undemocratic electoral college.

There’s little to stop this from happening again. Donald Trump has been a disaster in many ways, but – despite the best effort of his trade wars – the economy isn’t in the tank. He’s attacked the most vulnerable Americans, but his government is a far cry from the “fascism” some thought was on the horizon – yes, it’s rightwing and bad for working people, but mostly in the same way Republican administrations normally are. Simply pointing to the Trump administration and saying “this is not normal” won’t be enough to rally people into the voting booth.