Donald's Trump cards are fear and hostility

In order to verify the truth of what Marty is saying, Doc asks him a series of questions, one of which is: Who is the US President in 1985? Of course, Marty has to answer Ronald Reagan, at which point, as far as Doc is concerned, his credibility flies out the window faster than a speeding DeLorean.

The joke, of course, is that, to a 1955 citizen, the idea of Ronald Reagan, a man whose most famous role is arguably playing opposite a chimpanzee in Bedtime For Bonzo (and, if we were being unkind, being out-acted by it too) being the President is patently ridiculous.

Well, that's precisely how I feel about Donald Trump.

But if Ronald Reagan taught us anything, it's that when it comes to the US presidency, there is no candidate too ridiculous. And in the current political climate, Trump's chances of victory seem unnervingly plausible.

And what a few weeks he's been having!

With rank cynicism of the type that would seem beyond even a politician, Trump has gone after the most obvious of targets – Muslims. Preposterously, in the last week he has (in)famously called for all Muslims to be prevented from entering the United States. Yep, all of them.

He called for 'a total shutdown' and went on to defend this shutdown thusly: "We can be politically correct and be stupid, but it's going to get worse and worse." Just to reiterate, if you don't agree with Donald Trump's plan to prevent any Muslims who aren't already in the United States from crossing into the country, you're being politically correct. Oh, and stupid too.

This idea comes mere days after he suggested that all Muslims be forced to carry identification cards, the sole point of which is to denote that they are Muslims.

He has come under fire for making controversial statements on everything from immigration to the Duchess of Cambridge, writes Rob Cox.

His latest outbursts have targeted the Muslim community but he has a long charge sheet when it comes to causing offence.

Less than three weeks ago he openly mocked a New York Times reporter's physical disability during a speech.

And in August he revealed a plan to prevent immigrants crossing the Mexican border.

He said: "I will build a great wall – and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me – and I'll build them very inexpensively.

"I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words."

It was not the only time Mr Trump may have offended the United States' southern neighbour.

During his campaign launch speech in June, he said: "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you.

"They're sending people that have lots of problems and they're bringing those problems with us.

"They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some, I assume, are good people."

In addition to his inflammatory comments on immigration, earlier this month he spoke out on the subject of radical Islam in the UK capital.

He said: "We have places in London and other places that are so radicalised the police are afraid for their own lives."

Meanwhile, his thoughts on the topless sunbathing scandal surrounding the Duchess of Cambridge in 2012 may have had a similarly perplexing effect.

He posted on Twitter: "Kate Middleton is great – but she shouldn't be sunbathing in the nude – only herself to blame."

In a separate post, he added: "Who wouldn't take Kate's picture and make lots of money if she does the nude sunbathing thing. Come on Kate!"

Other quotes which can be attributed to Mr Trump have indicated his immense self-confidence.

In 2013, he again posted on Twitter: "Sorry losers and haters, but my I.Q. is one of the highest -and you all know it! Please don't feel so stupid or insecure, it's not your fault"

And after hosting the US version of The Apprentice, he claimed: "All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me – consciously or unconsciously. That's to be expected."

According to some of his other comments, if Mr Trump is elected President of the United States next November, there will plenty of 'winning' to look forward to.

He said this year: "We will have so much winning if I get elected you may get bored with winning. We are going to start winning big league."

The last time of historical note that followers of a specific religion were forced to identify themselves, was in Nazi Germany.

If it sounds emotive to bring Hitler into the equation, then I'm not the only one to do so. The Philadelphia Daily News, neatly sidestepping the possibility of legal action by using a pun, ran a cover this week showing Trump, arm raised in a textbook Nazi salute, along with the headline 'The New Furor'. Furor = Fuhrer, geddit?

Meanwhile, the newspaper's assistant city editor, David Lee Preston, tweeted the image with the message 'Remind you of anyone?' Condemnation has been quick to arrive from other quarters.

This is what Amnesty USA had to say: "Trump's proposal caters to the worst instincts of ethnic and religious prejudice – the kind that marked the worst chapters of US history, including Japanese internment.

"All political figures should reject the scapegoating and fear-mongering at play here. Bigotry should not masquerade as a counter-terrorism measure."

Hillary Clinton accused him of 'playing right into the hands' of jihadists, which one would imagine really got his back up.

Over here in Blighty, we did that most British of things and started a petition, to ensure Mr Trump is not allowed into our country. After all, we don't need him, we already have Lord Sugar. By yesterday lunchtime, it had reached 420,000 signatures.

Perhaps sensing this nation's opprobrium, Trump has also seen fit to have a pop at our capital city, saying there are parts of London so radicalised that police won't go into them. One suspects that he has seen footage of Shoreditch, taken one look at all the hipster beards, and jumped to the wrong conclusion.

His outburst reminds me of the Fox News 'terror expert' who in January this year went on record as saying that Birmingham is 'exclusively Muslim'. However, the expert in question, Steve Emerson, was cowed into a grovelling apology when it came to light that he was talking utter nonsense. Donald Trump won't apologise to the UK. Donald Trump doesn't apologise to anyone.

Even so, his bizarre statement at least afforded London Mayor Boris Johnson the opportunity to, as the youth say, 'flame' Trump in a reciprocal statement. "I would invite him to come and see London and take him round the city,"said Boris, "except I wouldn't want to expose any Londoners to any unnecessary risk of meeting Donald Trump."

Unfortunately for Amnesty, Hillary and the civilised world, it's not the political figures who will vote in the next President, and Trump's scare-mongering comes right on the heels of the latest Muslim-attributed massacre when it will cut deepest.

It was in the wake of the Paris killings that he first came up with the identity card idea, and after San Bernardino, he's taken things to the next level. If we assume that there are more attacks in the offing, one wonders what he'll come up with next.

What's more worrying is that, in the current climate of fear and mistrust, Trump's anti-Islamic stance will actually prove to be a vote-winner. You only have to look at the thrashing bucket of eels that is the social media opinion storm to see that there are people, people who can vote, who think Donald Trump is speaking perfect sense. They think he speaks it like it is, when he in fact speaks it like it definitely isn't.

But to any Americans who may be reading, I say this: Do you really want a man who gets comprehensively zinged by Boris Johnson running your country?