I've volunteered in US Elections and Trump is right, there are always Labour activists helping out

Donald Trump's latest headline grabbing stunt is threatening the UK Government because the Labour Party has been helping the Democrats trying to beat him.

The former President's team have complained, Elon Musk branded it illegal and now a lawyer has promised to sue.

This is down to a Labour election bod who stupidly posted on social media there will be 100 activists working in the swing states in the run up to the election. The kind of incredibly stupid move which proves the Harris campaign have hardly got themselves a secret election weapon.

In 2008 I jumped on a plane on my own and volunteered for the Barack Obama campaign, the most exciting political movement I'd seen in my lifetime. After showing a Miss America around Parliament in London I was plugged into the Obama campaign before he had beaten Hilary for the nomination. I was one the first Englishmen to ring voters on behalf of Obama and his team were expecting big things from me.

It was my boss at the time, who was frankly amazed I'd got myself ensconced in the media team fighting for the swing-state Florida, who gave me the jolt I needed: "Oh, god, you will probably go down as the bloke who lost Obama the election."

I still went to Miami, but instead of heading to the party headquarters where there was a space for me, I swerved the serious work (after being told 14 hour days in a call centre awaited) and turned up to the Ocean Drive Obama office and volunteered.

It was one of the best decisions I ever made, I had a fun-filled, laughter-laden, life affirming election campaign. I'd go out with a, cardboard cut out of Obama and a karaoke machine and let people take selfies with the 'next President of the US'. There were Americans from across the states, French, Scandanavians, Belgians, Colombians, Indians you name it who'd had the same idea as me, let's jump on a plane and be part of history.

My granddad was a communist and as a kid I loved hearing about the Spanish Civil War and how leftists from across the world fought against Franco. So I christened my new band of friends the Ocean Drive Obama Internationaol Brigade. During one afternoon arguing with Republicans outside the early polls it got a little violent, and a local journalist turned. up. I knew if I said I was the head of the Internaiotnal Brigade of foreign volunteers it would be a story, I'd get some publicity, and could become a footnote in history.

However, I also knew this story could be weaponsised by the Republicans, and this was with the very decent John McCain as leader. But I could see how it would play out in red states, foreigners in their election. So influence in I kept my mouth shit. Part of my role was recruiting volunteers, I was amazed and appalled felons could not vote. A law going back to Bill Clinton's administration and one that arguably cost Al Gore the election in Florida. So every felon I met I told them though they could not vote they could be involved in history, they could volunteer.

I remember one Mexican guy crying when I told him he could help our Yes We Can campaign. Then I remember my office manager Kale Williams IV (his family were Kale farmers) almost crying when I told him his new volunteers were all criminals. Whatever you do, don't tell the press.

And I did not because I did not want to harm the campaign, I was the only Englishman on the team and was even presented with my own "Brummies for Obama" t-shirt. The rest of the office were keen for me to meet the "Labour Party" group. As soon as I saw them I was not.

All publicly schooled with names like Hugh, Harry or Henry. They were condescending to this working class Brummie. I took the mick out of them, and my American friends were shocked. But, my point was, I paid my own dime to volunteer, they were on a party paid for trip to the states. They had the arrogance of being in power for over a decade at home, so I was happy to remind them how they'd be Tories if they'd been born ten years later.

What also tickled me was how they had gone where they were told to go, what did you do yesterday: "We were on the phones..." Oh me, I was recruiting voters in the Haitan Tap Tap bar then enjoyed being called an-loving baby killer by Republicans at the polls. What about Friday? "We were on the phones..." Oh me, I went campaigning with the Jewish Elvis Jelvis, in his Star of David jumpsuit. And invented Muppets for Obama.

And so on, from what I could gather they sticked together, sniping at the locals and missing the collective joy which the Obama campaign was built upon. Five minutes was more than enough talking to them, I went back to my desk and carried on folding posters with Ophelia - a 70-year-old black woman who remembered seeing lynchings in her Alabama town as a child and was just days away from electing her country's first mixed race President.

What Trump does not realise about his own campaign, is there will be UK Conservatives helping out somewhere. It's the way it is, politics is a very niche interest. And if you enjoy a good election then experiencing a US General Election in a swing state is incredible. So if you are a Tory or Labour and there is a way to get across the pond and be paid for it, whatever your political persuasion, you will go.

But it is easy to get over-excited, and liable to let the side down. The dolt who actually wrote on social media "lets teach these yanks a thing or two about winning elections" in the midst of the nastiest election ever giving her adopted party a bloody nose will feel as sick as a pig.

I went to a further two General Elections, Obama's repeat in 2012, when I spent more time propping up bars than knocking doors because as the most powerful man in the world, he could get by without my help. And then for Trump's win in 2016 when I did not lift a finger to help Hilary. But, always I met Labour activists, and avoided them like the plague.

New York was in a depressive shock after their once laughing stock became The Boss, even the fire engines sounded sad. And we could wish them luck and get on a plane home leaving them to live with their ballot box choice, which is why Trump has no reason to worry about UK Labour workers because they don't have skin in the game but are just there to boast on social media.

Obama and Me: The Incredible True Story of a YouTube Sensation by Steve Zacharanda, aka Adam Smith is available on Amazon.