Initially, I could not work out why Trump was so popular, but I get it now. He is very conservative on all social issues, but on most economic issues he says and does all the things that a populist (usually a left wing one) would say and do. Tariffs and budget deficits are things that conservatives normally fiercely oppose.
I think the above posts demonstrate that Trumps approach resonates with a lot of people; particularly the mentality that if China got rich, it means they must have taken that wealth from someone else (ie they can’t have created it themselves).
Under Trump, USA is spending about $3.4 trillion per annum (making Trump easily the biggest spending President ever), $750 billion p.a. of which has to be paid for by future generations (also a record). Astonishing from a so-called conservative!
In about March last year, Trump tweeted “trade wars are good, and easy to win”. (An astonishing comment, given trade history.) Ever since I heard that, I have taken an interest in how this slow moving train wreck, even though I live in a third country, and it has nothing to do with me.
In answer to the question about whether it is time to put money under the mattress, I think you see the answer in the US yield curve. It has inverted, which is a classic sign of a recession over the horizon. (Almost every recorded inverted yield curve in modern history has been followed by a recession within 2 years.)
