Hasan has kept his mask on throughout our interview of nearly two hours but also followed his own book’s advice of maintaining eye contact from beneath his thick brows. He is about to take the book on tour, which he admits could prove the ultimate test of his Covid defences. With the 2024 election under way, he intends to keep warning against short memories and the danger of normalising Trump or other extremist Republicans. That he has the platform to do so is something he regards as a privilege, like when your dad hands you the keys to his expensive car.

I feel like, ‘Wow, they gave me the keys to go out and drive and I’ve got to be really careful with the car, but I’m also got to enjoy it and do what I want to do and make the most of it.’ That’s constantly what I’m thinking. Otherwise I wouldn’t do what I do, I would go and do something else. There would be no point if I wasn’t constantly thinking about how it’s being received and what I’m trying to achieve. I’m trying to win an argument every night. I’m trying to say: this is what I believe. You don’t have to agree with me, but let me make the case.”

Read more at The Guardian