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The Triad

Wall Street Loves Trump Because LOL Nothing Matters

The S&P 500 will turn you into the Joker.

Jonathan V. Last's avatar
Jonathan V. Last
February 12, 2025∙ Paid
Upgrade to listen11 minutes
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(Composite / Photos: Shutterstock)

1. DGAF

One thesis is: If the economy sours, then voters will hold Trump/Republicans accountable for it.

Maybe this is correct, maybe it’s not. It’s at least plausible. But also: I can imagine a world in which the economy goes bad and Trump convinces an advantageously distributed 48 percent of voters that, it’s actually great. Or if it is bad, then it’s the fault of woke, DEI, radical-leftist trans illegal immigrants.

After the experience of the 2020 election I am no longer certain that there exists a meaningful link running from economic reality to political accountability.

But we can argue about that another time.

What I want to talk about today is the opposite pathway: What if the there’s no longer a link running from political performance to economic reality?

What if the president of the United States does all sorts of crazy shit to both the American political order and the American economy and in response the markets just . . . shrug?

Because so far, that’s exactly what is happening. Trump is doing dangerous stuff. The objective data is worrisome. And the markets dgaf.

Warning: You are not going to like any of this conversation today. So let’s get it on.

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