Honestly, you really don't need any special skills, experience or knowledge in order to cover America and Trump.
There's no need to be quite so flippant. I would argue that you
do
need specialised 'skills, experience or knowledge' to cover the North American brief. The clue is in the title. The last time that I checked, North America included Canada, Mexico, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. In light of a) the diversity and frequency of reports from these areas - for example, covering hurricanes, the trade, etc. - and b) the historical links between these areas and Europe - eg., the UK, France, etc. - a specialised knowledge is required.
Of course, therein lies the
problem
. Ginnyfan is not alone in the equating the North America Editor with the United States. There are, however, important stories at play in countries such as Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Honduras and the other countries in the area that have an impact upon policy and policy position in the both the UK and Europe. To my mind, the North America Editor should be looking to these areas for stories. If you pick up a newspaper or look at a periodical, the stories are there. Important stories that need to be told.
I always got the feeling the role of China Editor was created specifically for Carrie Gracie due to her extensive knowledge and enthusiasm of all things China
I can see your point here but I think it speaks more to how the BBC recognised that the world was changing. Think about it this way - for years, the titled correspondents of note were John Simpson (World Affairs Editor), Kate Adie (Chief News Correspondent) and Martin Bell (Chief International Correspondent). Perhaps in response to a) the breakup of the USSR and the changing geopolitical landscape and b) a realisation that Simpson et al. would not be around forever, the BBC responded. Jeremy Bowen was made Middle East Editor, Justin Webb was appointed the first North America Editor, etc. Ironically, globalisation - which should have eroded barriers and borders - mandated that specialist editors were required. The growth of China as a cultural, economic and political superpower
necessitated
that the creation of an editorial role. The fact that Carrie Gracie was fluent in Mandarin and worked there on a regular basis was bonus in that sense.
So are you saying that Will Gompertz and Dan Roan should get the same as Jeremy Bowen and Laura Kuenssberg? They are all editors.
The problem with this scenario is that you have domestic and international editors. I don't think it's possible to equate the role of Arts Editor to that of Middle East Editor - it's not as if war will break out between Tate Britain and Tate Modern - but you could argue that the number of correspondents and the breadth of remit for the Sports Editor was as great as that of the North America Editor.