Trump never lets facts spoil a story

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has come out in strong support of Jason Arday, the 41-yearold professor who had to stand down from his position at Cambridge University after being accused of telling porkies about his academic achievements.

“I sympathise with you, Jason,” said the president in a personal note to Arday, whose PhD thesis appeared to bear a remarkable resemblance to the work of other students.

This reminds me of an incident my father told me about, which occurred when he was editing the Indian Nation newspaper in Patna, the capital of Bihar. When a college lecturer, who had submitted an article on Indian foreign policy, dropped in for tea, my father took out the article the man had submitted and placed it on the table.

Next, my father took out a book written by the distinguished Sardar KM Panikkar, India’s inaugural ambassador to the People’s Republic of China from 1950 to 1952.

Turning to the relevant pages, my father said to the lecturer: “I don’t know what to say to you, but it seems Sardar Panikkar has copied his entire chapter from your excellent article.”

As an editor, my father always encouraged young talent, but it seems this particular lecturer never again visited him.

It is fair to say that some who have attacked Prof Arday are implacably opposed to notions of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) and argue his appointment is an example of positive discrimination gone wrong. They also think Trump is the best thing since samosas arrived in Britain, and only hope Reform leader Nigel Farage – and would-be MP again for Clacton – will usher in Trumpian politics in the UK.

Trump told Jason: “Fact checkers at the Washington Post say I made 30,573 false or misleading claims during my first presidential term – an average of 21 a day. That’s because it’s a loser paper. I have been accused of telling tall tales.

“OK, my height was once 6ft 2in and Prince William, who is 6ft 3in, looks taller standing next to me. But I have grown in office to 6ft 3in to become the tallest president in the history of the United States.

“As you know, I have stopped eight wars – including that between Israel and Hamas. The other seven were between Israel and Iran, Pakistan and India, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Thailand and Cambodia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Serbia and Kosovo.

“Modesty prevents me from pointing out I also brought peace after the First and Second World Wars, plus the Wars of the Roses between 1455 and 1487. Some people have said I wasn’t born then, but that’s trying to get me on a technicality.

“As the president of peace, I have been given the Nobel Prize. Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir has assured me it’s in the post. Narendra Modi of India is my best friend, too, which is why I reduced the tariffs on Indian goods to 25 per cent – or was it 50 per cent? It’s wonderful to hear you ran 35 marathons in 35 days. You must excuse me now because I always run a marathon before breakfast. Then a few hamburgers washed down with Coke. Makes me the fittest president in the history of America. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

“By the way, I am very proud of my PhD from Cambridge. I think it was for helping Einstein resolve the little problems he was having with his relatives.”