For the title of this blog post I was really wanting to say “The Trump effect on personal finances, world peace and why I am worried” but that would be a bit long winded, but you get the general idea. As I contemplate the decline in our own finances, I would be interested to know what American readers think.
I know from my website stats that quite a few readers are in America. In the rankings, country by country, most readers are UK based and that’s quite understandable since that’s where I live. Next are American readers and I really would like to know what you think of your President and the effect he has had on markets worldwide.
Firstly I must say something about the scene from the above photo. It was Trump giving Ukrainian President Zelensky a tough time in the White House a few weeks ago. I could hardly believe such a thing would be filmed broadcast around the world. Trump was chastising Zelensky for not being sufficiently grateful for the US military aid which has helped Ukraine defend itself for the last three years. In my view Trump was playing to the TV cameras, giving them something to broadcast and boost whatever image Donald Trump was wanting to either create or maintain.
It was extraordinary how the two of them locked horns in the diplomatic spat; Zelensky held his ground but alas was sent away with a flea in his ear. Not my idea of diplomacy or managing international relations. Sure, if they do have a dispute, they should be talking it over in private, in a dignified way, not on TV shown around the world.
All of this has unsettled markets around the world, or perhaps I should say accelerated some financial turbulence out there. The real effect started, on our portfolio, when Trump took office and the line on the graph changed from a north east direction to a south east direction and it hasn’t stopped. The downturn is nothing we haven’t seen before and no doubt there will be other times in the future. We certainly don’t see any reason to take evasive action, despite the current concern.
As for future concerns, that is an unanswered question at the moment; none of us knows what lies ahead. I do not have much reassurance the world is in safe hands, as far as Trump is concerned. Aside from the provocative ambitions on Greenland, Gaza, the Panama Canal and even Canada, my main worry is his disregard for history.
Allies, not enemies
By this disregard for history I mean the lessons learned from past conflicts (Vietnam, Afghanistan, World War 2 etc) which led to the creation of some excellent institutions around the world – NATO, United Nations, World Health Organisation, UNESCO, the European Unions and perhaps others. Sure, none of these will be perfect but they do all contribute to stability across the globe and I get the impression Trump is not keen on these. You can add shared economic growth, military cooperation, culture and a sense of being allies with each other. We are allies, not enemies.
Americans – is this what you voted for?
The “Make America great” slogan that Trump often uses is clearly something people voted for. This also seems to include deporting immigrants in chains, trade tariffs and being provocative towards the world.
He appears, from the United Kingdom side of the Atlantic, to be playing a dangerous game. I even heard him, when talking about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, suggest Ukraine should surrender the territory already occupied. The reason was along the lines of many Russian soldiers have been killed fighting for this land over a long period of time, therefore their occupation is justified, somehow. How absolutely outrageous.
Then I heard the order for US Aid to be halted and all the staff who administer this are suspended from their jobs. There would be an outcry if that ever happened here.
Surely there is a moral obligation on rich, wealthy countries to be considerate towards other states. It is not about seeing what business deals you can achieve but working for the greater good across the continents. This includes seeking peace, cooperation and working for the greater good.
Surely you must be concerned about Elon Musk. He appears to have so much power, is this true? He hasn’t even been elected by you.
My dear American readers
Russia and Europe seem to be increasing their military investment, almost as if they are expecting a confrontation. This is a consequence of Trump pulling back on the defence of Ukraine. There is a threat, now, to undermine the work of many international institutions. Our investments have decreased in value, hopefully just for the short term but business must feel the effect as well.
Is this really what you voted for? Even if you voted for Trump, did you expect this kind of thing? Are you comfortable with your President’s actions?