O'Leary has gone full-on Donald Trump with outlandish, reprehensible hogwash

I’m not sure you could fit more hogwash into three paragraphs than Michael O’Leary did on Tuesday in an incendiary statement that ruled Tiger Roll out of this year’s Grand National.

It was a piece of work, and, let’s not be in any doubt, O’Leary knows exactly what he is doing. The Ryanair boss is a communications marvel and revels in the attention. He is well versed in how and when to make a scene, so the timing of it was designed for maximum effect to pee on Aintree’s chips, even if that meant poor old Gordon Elliott getting caught in the crossfire.

Tuesday’s intervention was straight out of the Trumpian playbook of outlandish claims, delusions of victimisation, personal attacks, emotive language, blame passing and flaming red herrings. All it was missing was a dig at the “HATERS!” and the sort of call to arms pay-off Trump used ahead of last year’s Capitol riots. “Big protest in Liverpool on April 9,” it might have read. “Be there, will be wild!”