Angry at Barack Obama, angry at the world, America has turned its back on the president who promised to change everything. Now it may turn its back on globalisation.

Amid the cacophony of explanations for Mr Obama’s fall from grace, the most obvious was the most persuasive. The midterms were a referendum on an administration presiding over anaemic economic recovery and stubbornly high unemployment. The Republicans claimed a famous victory, but the country really wanted to punish the Democrats.

Mr Obama argued plaintively that he had nursed the economy through the crisis inherited from his predecessor. If he had not acted decisively to shore up the financial system and stimulate the economy, things would have been a great deal worse. Rescuing Wall Street was about saving Main Street.