What is Donald Trump up to now? From trade wars and stock market yo-yos to shouting matches in the White House, it can be hard to keep track. The US president’s first 100 days have been predictably riotous. To make sense of it all, The Spectator‘s deputy editor Freddy Gray and Spectator columnist and bestselling author Lionel Shriver hosted a special edition of Americano Live this week in front of hundreds of Spectator readers and subscribers at Westminster’s Emmanuel Centre.
What is Donald Trump up to now? From trade wars and stock market yo-yos to shouting matches in the White House, it can be hard to keep track
What was the most absurd moment of Trump’s second term in the White House so far? Both Shriver and Gray think ‘Signalgate’ – when a journalist was mistakenly added to a group chat with high-ranking US administration officials – is hard to top.
‘Can you imagine including in your private chat one of the most antagonistic journalists in the country to your project and your leader?’ Shriver asked the audience, ‘I just thought that was astonishing. In fact, it was hilarious.’
‘It reminded me of that Brass Eye sketch’, said Gray, ‘it was the worst thing that could have happened.’
Despite the chaos, Trump has had some notable success. The biggest, says Shriver, is the border crackdown. Illegal crossings have dropped by some 95 per cent. As Britain struggles to address its own border farce, Shriver says there are some lessons here for the UK:
‘Politicians all over the West are constantly either saying overtly or implying that they are at a loss to do anything about mass immigration, especially mass illegal immigration. Trump has just demonstrated otherwise. What he’s especially demonstrated is that, once you show that you are going to obey your own laws and that there really is a danger of being deported, suddenly the whole situation changes.’
Trump’s second presidency may have only just started, but eyes are already turning to what happens in 2028 when the next US election will be held. Trump cannot serve another term, but some of his supporters hope there might be a way of bending the US constitution to allow Trump to stand again. That prospect seems unlikely and whoever is chosen to replace Trump, the Republicans won’t find anyone quite like him. ‘I don’t think there is any other personality with Donald Trump’s extraordinary combination of great instinct, terrible crassness, great wealth, but mass appeal,’ Gray says.
What’s the secret to Trump’s extraordinary success? Gray told the audience that he thinks the reason The Donald succeeds against the odds is that ‘the political opposition he was fighting never really took him seriously. They couldn’t quite understand how this ridiculous character could succeed. And yet he did. And that has changed politics forever.’
While Trump’s unique personality has undoubtedly led to political success, Shriver points out that the financial markets can react rather differently to voters: ‘He likes surprise. He likes people out of kilter, off centre. But I think in economics, this is where it goes wrong.’
Is there mastery behind the madness? Gray speculates that there might be: ‘I think that the reason he likes uncertainty is because he’s a political entrepreneur. And with tariffs, he’s trying it. It’s a punt on the market, as it were. If it doesn’t work and it’s a disaster, he can pull back and move on.’
‘I think you can make the argument that there is some permanent damage left behind’, says Shriver. ‘It puts the United States in the position of being untrustworthy.’
Even if Trump’s first three months as president have been rather bumpy, Gray finished the event with a sobering thought for the audience to ponder: ‘Imagine if Kamala Harris had won the election.’
After the podcast recording, audience members took part in a Q&A. One Spectator reader asked what grade Trump deserved for his time in charge. Freddy’s verdict? A ‘B+’. Lionel’s? A ‘C’.
Don’t forget to check out our exciting programme of events here
Comments