Donald Trump is an agent of chaos.
He has been ever since he entered the Republican contest for the presidency.
Think back over the past few years and look at his time in office. It’s a short, turbulent time period marked by scandals and defined by off-the-wall tweets. It’s a time period that has frustrated some citizens while delighting others, provided job security for late-night comedy writers, and confused political leaders both at home and abroad.
In the public eye, he’s an extrovert who loves attention and thrives on conflict. Whether he’s coming up with a nickname for a political rival, or throwing jabs on Twitter when much of the country is asleep, there’s no denying that the President of the United States is not someone who backs down.
It’s made for good news and kept the lights on at outlets that admire him as well as ones that admonish him. They feed him the attention he craves, he gives them the material they need to keep the cycle going. This has more or less shaped the American character since the 2016 primaries. It’s affected our news, our entertainment, indeed, our very way of thinking.
You’ve no doubt seen stories and news reports of people in MAGA hats, speaking loudly about how Trump “tells it like it is,” and how that’s what the country needs. On the other side of that, you’ve likely seen the stories of people who have promised to put a stop to Trump and everything he and his supporters stand for, no matter what.
So on top of everything else, the Trump presidency has brought to the surface a division in American social life that’s likely to endure long past his time in office. It’s always been there to some degree or another, yes, but the chaos this administration revels in has exposed it in a way that it no longer lurks just behind the curtain.
But that’s not even half of it.
People are protesting en masse again and we now have a culture where people can be ‘cancelled’ for saying the wrong thing. On top of all of that, we’ve also gotten daily reminders of just what it’s like to live under an economy that shifts as much as the names on the directory list in Trump’s West Wing.
The Word of Trump
In case you missed it, when Trump spoke to the United Nations General Assembly earlier this week, he took a hardline stance against globalism that helped carry him to the presidency.
Iran and activists who openly oppose his policies were the targets of his ire. He also targeted China, continuing with the latest salvo in his ongoing trade war. Specifically, he said he would not settle on a “bad deal” with Beijing. This alone was enough to hurt stocks, which started higher that day after Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said that trade talks would resume soon.
The volatility that the market saw after those remarks is largely in line with what we’ve seen since Trump started his trade war. You’ve seen in these pages time and again how the trade war is just one aspect of a global economic downturn, but it’s one over which the president has a large amount of influence.
It comes as no surprise, then, that Trump latches onto the media attention he gets for his trade war. He tweets about it. He brings it up at conferences and in interviews. It’s a pet project that he owns for better or worse, and it’s one that has largely affected the spending power of every American whether they realize it or not.
And the volatility that comes from, and is influenced by, Trump’s trade war is about to have some company.
Forward Into the Unknown
The other big news this week was the opening of an impeachment inquiry following Trump’s conversation with Ukrainian officials. It is far too early to say how this latest chapter in The Strange Saga of Donald J. Trump, President is going to unfold. With the next election on the horizon and the key players taking their places, we as the audience can only watch and wait to see how it all develops.
Either way, this whole thing is going to play out under a cloud of uncertainty that could make anyone anxious.
Given that, it’s no surprise that there are those who have taken steps to protect their financial assets. Trump’s actions have, in part, caused a gold bull market unlike any we’ve seen before. When he’s tweeted about trade, tariffs, and the Federal Reserve, gold has gone up.
It’s a trend that’s only going to get stronger going forward. Getting into position now is the best way to make sure you’re able to come out on top no matter what the chaos ahead may bring.
Gold is at an all-time highs in several currencies for a reason. It’s the one thing that seems like it will walk away from the coming chaos even stronger.
Keep your eyes open,
Ryan Stancil
Contributing Editor, Outsider Club
