SHE has been thoroughly humiliated and, as is the way of these things, quickly forgotten. So swiftly have things moved on, so changed is the tone of the political landscape, the Theresa May era already feels like ancient history.

Yesterday’s woman remains Conservative leader until Friday, however, and today she takes centre stage for the last time, going through the motions of welcoming President Donald Trump to the UK for what is already proving to be an interestingly timed state visit.

Now that she has nothing left to lose, surely Mrs May will not humiliate herself further by allowing Mr Trump to lead her by the hand, as she did in January 2017 during that ever so awkward press conference at the White House. She let him hold her hand again, in London in July 2018, with the President describing it as a way to make the special relationship between the US and the UK “the highest level of special”. He then asked: “Am I allowed to go higher than that?” and it is perhaps little wonder Mrs May looked horrified at this suggestion, albeit in her strange, robotic way. Was the President about to launch into the sort of misogynistic “locker room talk” he has shown no remorse over using (lest we forget there are currently 23 accusations of sexual misconduct against him)? Or perhaps Mrs May was alarmed at the thought of how far she may have to go – politically speaking - to secure a favourable post-Brexit trade deal? We will probably never know.

Read more: Donald Trump says leave the EU without a deal and send Nigel Farage to negotiate

What’s relevant now, of course, is which of the current crop of Tory leadership hopefuls would be willing to jump into bed, as it were, with Mr Trump in the event of a no-deal Brexit. And would they be happy to be endorsed by him? Only Boris Johnson has – so far – publicly received Trump’s approval, in comments made during recent interviews. “I think Boris would do a very good job,” exclaimed Mr Trump. “I have always liked him. He’s a very good guy, a very talented person. He has been very positive about me and our country.”

The former Foreign Secretary has not yet signalled whether he welcomes such support. Indeed, other than saying at the beginning of the leadership campaign that he would embrace a no-deal Brexit unless the EU renegotiates the Northern Ireland backstop treaty, Mr Johnson has barely opened his big gob, obviously all too aware of his propensity for self-sabotage.

Mr Trump suggested other candidates had asked him for endorsements, saying his approval “would help anyone” and that he is “loved” by people in the UK. One suspects a Trump thumbs up won’t swing things one way or the other for anyone, especially since choosing the next PM is in the hands of a small constituency already sure of its view on pretty much everything.

Read more: Donald Trump says leave the EU without a deal and send Nigel Farage to negotiate

What does matter, however, are the nature of the discussions and promises made during any meetings between Mr Trump and Mr Johnson and, here’s a horrifying thought, Nigel Farage.

Mr Trump, who has already said the Government should send Mr Farage to negotiate with the EU – “think how well they would do if they did” – has long been critical of the UK’s Brexit approach, saying it left the EU “with all the cards”. He has, with typical bluster, advocated walking away with no-deal. This from the man who, as outlined in an article in the New Yorker last year, lobbied hard to lead nuclear negotiations with the Soviet Union in the 1980s by advocating a position where you make the other side feel comfortable, “stand up and shout f**k you!”, then leave the room. Probably just as well for all of us President Bush didn’t take him up on the offer. And I can’t imagine that approach will work in Brussels right now, particularly since the EU does indeed hold all the cards (it always has) and has repeatedly made clear it will not re-open the withdrawal deal. Why would it?

Don’t be surprised if, after a no-deal Brexit, the UK has no option but to go cap in hand to the US and sign up to all sorts of terrible things. A less favourable trade deal than the one we currently have as members of the EU would be only the start. Accepting products and standards rejected for good reason by the EU, as represented by the chlorinated chicken debate, would likely be part of any no-deal humiliation. I suspect the UK would soon be under pressure to reject or reduce green targets, too, as Mr Trump continues to up the anti-climate change rhetoric.

We should also be very concerned about deals encouraging the UK to introduce more privatisation into the NHS. As someone who has seen the “profits before patients” US health system at close quarters, I believe we should resist such an approach with every fibre of our collective being. Mr Farage is already a supporter of insurers “taking the burden off the NHS”. And the rest.

Make no mistake, the US holds all the cards in this negotiation, too; a weakened Brexit Britain would be under the Trump thumb in no time. This is the “higher level” of special relationship the US President wants. We must not allow him to get it, and the only sure way to do this is to stop Brexit.