If you put on the military uniform, you're a prima facie hero. Generals are the epitome of that. They're the ones who have been most successful at the soldier's trade.

Americans knock themselves out, especially since 9/11, praising the military.

Everything that happens today is like something in the past, but it's also unlike things in the past. We never know until an event happens if it's the similarities or differences that matter more.

When you look at the development of the American presidency, you see that the presidents who have had the greatest impact are the ones who fit their times most successfully.

In rural communities, people are upset with the government, upset with what they see as business as usual. They saw Obama as a change agent, and they saw Donald Trump as a change agent.

I hope I represent a type of politics where we bring people together, where we inspire people - and we do it with this motivation of building a world that's better for everybody.

The idea of being in the State Department was exciting. On the other hand, I always had in the back of my mind going into politics. If I stayed in Washington, I might end up a government hack.

My father got a trade union scholarship to Oxford; he lived and breathed politics; he was always watching current-affairs programmes. But I have a five-year-old child's attitude towards the news. Mainly, that it absolutely turns me off.