It’s time for investors to step back and take a hard look at where the U.S. economy is heading—and the picture is not pretty. In fact, it’s downright terrifying.
Donald Trump’s return to the political stage has not only rattled the global order but pushed the U.S. economy to the edge of a fiscal cliff. With a toxic cocktail of economic incoherence, erratic policy, and raw political chaos, the U.S. stock market has become a playground for what I call financial arsonists—the so-called "chaos monkeys" who thrive in the wreckage of responsible governance.
Let me be blunt: U.S. stocks are a no-go zone.
Radicalism Meets Recklessness
Trump is no longer just flirting with radical economic policy—he’s embracing it with both hands, slamming the accelerator on trade wars, dismantling regulatory frameworks, and attacking the institutions that once underpinned American prosperity.
He has gutted traditional alliances and dismantled the foundational tenets of post-World War II economic stability: cooperation, trade, and the rule of law. Atlanticism? Gone. Global trade norms? In tatters. The result? A geopolitical free-for-all that harks back not to the 1980s, but the 1930s—with all the economic despair and conflict that entails.
The American Economy in Retreat
Trump’s policies aren’t just radical; they’re self-destructive. His surrender to Russian interests, refusal to engage with China in any meaningful manufacturing competition, and blind faith in tariffs as economic salvation point to one conclusion: this is not a plan—it’s an economic suicide pact.
Investors take note—there’s no path to sustainable growth here. The dollar’s strength is brittle, propped up by artificial confidence. And with fiscal policy increasingly dictated by Silicon Valley libertarians masquerading as efficiency experts—see Elon Musk’s fictional Department of Government Efficiency—the capacity of the federal government to respond to crisis has been hollowed out.
Markets Reflect Madness
We are seeing a market more sensitive to Trump’s Twitter rants than to actual earnings reports. That’s not just volatility—that’s institutional instability. The SEC, the Fed, even the Treasury—all are under siege, weakened or co-opted by political operatives with little regard for market fundamentals or long-term growth.
Look East, Look West, But Not Here
I’ve long advocated for disciplined, impact-conscious investing. Right now, that means divesting from U.S. equities and exploring international alternatives—particularly Europe, where German fiscal expansion and increased defense spending are set to buoy industrial stocks. Asia, too, presents opportunity, with more consistent policy regimes and investment in the technologies of the future.
Hope in Discipline, Not in Chaos
Some cling to the hope that market pressure will bring discipline to the Trump administration. But the damage is already done. Governance has been degraded, and trust—once the bedrock of American markets—has eroded.
Let me end with this: the last time a nation tried to forcibly reshape the global economic order, it ended in world war and depression. We must not repeat that mistake. Investors: step back, re-evaluate, and protect your capital. Chaos monkeys are running the show—and that’s never good for money.