Friday, Aug. 30, 2019 | 2 a.m.
View more of the Sun's opinion section
Some might say that the election of President Donald Trump was due, in part, to his reputation as a successful businessman. In fact, though, he went through six bankruptcies and could not even make money running a casino.
Trump is running the country with the same erratic decision making he used in his businesses. He started a trade war with China without knowing that tariffs are taxes on imports and cause prices to rise for consumers. When someone told him that his latest tariff on iPhones would increase prices during the holiday shopping season, he postponed that tariff.
Trump has gambled on his tariffs forcing China to make a trade deal, when China can wait for the 2020 election before striking any deal.
With the economy starting to soften, he has no strategy. He is out of tools to stimulate the economy and has been harassing the Fed to lower interest rates, which would not have any real effect given how low they already are. With Trump harping on low rates, the stock market expects lower rates and reacts badly if they are not lowered.
Trump claimed the economy would go south if he is not re-elected. The markets shudder at uncertainty and Trump wants to blame voters for the next recession. Trump's prediction can bring a positive outcome if voters rebel with negative feedback to his policies, which would bring on his own self-defeating prophecy at the ballot box.
