His supporters, many of them of them working class Americans who had borne the brunt of the globalisation that had destroyed their jobs and their neighbourhoods, saw him as a messiah-like figure who would drive the money changers from the temple and restore their lost prosperity.

The irony of putting their trust in a man who had been significantly enriched by that same globalisation process and who was committed to winding back their recently won access to free medical care appeared to escape them.

They wanted a president who would stand up to big business, give the little guy an even break and thump China, the country which had benefited most significantly from the winding down of American industry, on the nose.

Trump's critics had a decidedly more gloomy view. They were saying the election of an arrogant, arguably ignorant, manifestly self-interested alleged sociopath to the presidency could only end in tears. The most likely outcomes were impeachment, Armageddon or both.

With 12 months down, and potentially another 36 to go, both groups have been disappointed.

Trump has not been the saviour his working class power base had been hoping for and he hasn't been the absolute disaster disillusioned Democrats had been predicting either.

There is no good reason to believe Mrs Clinton would have fared any better on either international or domestic issues over the past year than President Trump.

While not everybody would agree with Marc Thiessen, the commentator who said this week that Trump's single greatest achievement remained keeping Hillary out of the Oval Office, that opinion has its supporters.

The Clintons, as a brand, were on the nose with much of the American electorate by 2016.

Many Democrats did not see Hillary as a worthy successor to Obama, the man who had knocked her out of the race for the presidency five years previously. If they had, they would have turned out to vote in sufficient numbers to keep Trump out.

It is unlikely, on the strength of her performance as US Secretary of State in the Obama Administration, a President Hillary would have been able to persuade China to put real pressure on North Korea over its missile program; stimulate growth in the US economy to levels not seen since before the GFC, or to persuade America's NATO allies to kick in an additional $12 billion towards its running costs for example.

The real test for President Trump comes a little under 12 months from now, on November 6, 2018, when all 435 House of Representatives and one third of the Senate seats will be up for election.

That is when the American people will pass judgement on one of the most divisive, colourful and potentially influential presidents the US has seen in decades.