In all polls, Trump has always been ahead of his opponents in terms of economic competence, whether against Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. But the tide has just turned, because in the last survey the latter joined him. The same day, 400 economists gave their support to Harris, some going so far as to assert that the statements of the Trumpist “program” would lead the United States towards catastrophe, particularly in fiscal matters and through his promise to impose tariffs on imports, which would directly affect American consumers.
It’s about time serious economists denounced Trump’s so-called economic competence. His status as a businessman has blinded the ignorant on the subject. You only need to know a little about his background to see the humbug. He owes his father’s millions to have been able to build his first buildings, which is not exactly an entrepreneurial feat. And it’s even easier when you don’t pay your suppliers and exhaust them financially in court.
The only time he ventured outside the real estate rut was in the creation and operation of three casinos in Atlantic City, including the pretentious and very kitsch Taj Mahal. Four bankruptcies followed. Trump was the laughing stock of business people. After losing part of his property, he was only able to regain his financial health by being hired to host a reality TV show where he became famous by clowning around every week.
Idle, he entered politics both to feed his narcissistic self and to use power for personal gain. He had no idea or knowledge that could have prepared him to become president. He never won by universal suffrage, only the absurd system of electors allowed him to enter the White House. It is the myth of the great businessman that secured him this place, a myth maintained by powerful real business people who made him their political puppet. But now a black woman, sure of herself and who worked in public service as a prosecutor, stood in his way and lectured him on economics. Let’s hope that on November 5 she will manage to send him back to Mar-a-Lago for good.
