My surprising choice for next US President, by Jeffrey Archer*

The Conservative peer and globally bestselling author reveals how, just four weeks out, the US election remains on a knife-edge... and why it matters desperately to Britain who wins

A DONALD Trump victory in the US presidential election would be a catastrophe, and not just for America but for Britain too. It might surprise you but my vote, were I an American citizen, would .undoubtedly be for Kamala Harris.

Alarmingly, however, although the scales are finely balanced, I still think Trump could well beat Harris, not least because opinion polls show 52% of Americans are worried about the economy, 24% about immigration and just 14% about abortion.

If Trump hopes to win, he needs to stick to the message that the economy is out of control - even though it's doing rather well under Joe Biden - that illegal immigration is a disaster, which isn't far from the truth, and avoid abortion as an issue. However, it's difficult for Trump to remain on-message because he truly cuts through to voters when he adlibs, even if his claims are often unverifiable if not downright untrue.

We've never met but, while a Trump victory would render him one of the richest and most powerful men in the world, if he loses, there's a chance he'll be divorced, bankrupt and in jail within a year.

So the stakes couldn't be higher. A second Trump presidency would probably see him making a deal with Putin over Ukraine, which is frightening enough, as Putin looks upon the UK as his biggest enemy in Europe.

The current state of politics in the US is so febrile, so enthralling, actually so terrifying, that every fortnight I wait with growing anticipation to discuss its latest twists and turns with the former US senator Bill Bradley.

Bill and I are not natural political allies, but we've been the closest of friends for more than 60 years and, at 5pm precisely on alternate Sundays, we convene to talk about affairs of state in our respective countries.

Bill is a fervent Democrat. He served for 18 years as a US senator for New Jersey and lost to AI Gore as presidential nominee in the 2000 election.