LUKE MARSDEN: America is just as much a divided nation as the UK

​She introduces herself as Graceland. At first I wonder if she’s asking if I intend to visit it. Turns out it’s her actual name. Yes, I’m back in the USA; the Sunshine State to be exact.

That said, the sun hasn’t been beating down on me as much as I’d like on this trip. Locals tell me it’s unseasonably cool for November in Florida. My standard reply is “it beats the UK right now.”

I’ve been fortunate to visit the US at this time of year for the last few years, but just like the UK, it is a country more divided than ever.

The Uber driver who dropped me off at Hooters spoke at length how he prays every night for the return of The Donald to the White House next year, after it was “stolen” from him. Stanley also informed me he keeps a gun in his glovebox because “you just never know who will ride in your car.”

I’ve visited Universal where I queued a whopping 90 minutes to get a photo with a guy dressed as The Grinch.

To pass the time I got embroiled in a gun debate with two girls from Utah. They simply don’t understand why nobody in the UK has a firearm.

"How will you protect your house, Luke?” asked Amanda. Both of them 25 and already more deadly than I can ever hope to be.

When The Grinch asked me what we have in the UK? I replied rats in the Thames. I should’ve said no school shootings.

The Americans I’ve spoken to believe their own realities, many believe Joe Biden is an illegitimate President, many don’t understand my accent and don’t get why I don’t support Man United when I live in a town so close to Old Trafford.

What has amused more on this trip is grown adults saying tator tots like we’re not allowed to say fried cubed potatoes, because that, just like not owning a gun is a mental ideal. God bless America.