Well, this has been quite the journey. I left London on Jan 9, flew into Denver and then drove 2,400 miles through what some people might call “the real America” – all in time to reach Washington DC for Donald Trump’s inauguration.

I drove more miles in a little over a week than I normally manage in the UK in a year.

It was an eye-opener that explains, in some ways, why Mr Trump won. Also, why he won big, sweeping the swing states and claiming the popular vote – something that the Republican Party has struggled to achieve in previous elections.

I started out in Grant County, Nebraska, which is about a four-hour drive from Denver. I picked the county because it is the “Trumpiest” in the US, the place where 95.9 per cent of those who voted picked Mr Trump over Kamala Harris.