Like most people, I was shocked when Donald Trump managed to defeated Hillary Clinton for the presidency, despite losing the popular vote by a substantial margin. Democrats and liberals are still in the anger phase, as many are pointing fingers trying to make sense of this debacle.
But now we face the prospect of Trump running the country. While Wall Street is giddy for the moment as they fantasize about Trump implementing the Ryan agenda with tax cuts and deregulation, many realize that Trump’s erratic management style and willingness to flip positions on a whim will likely create tremendous uncertainty.
If we’re honest with ourselves, we have to acknowledge that predicting what Trump will do with respect to any particular issue or crisis will be extremely difficult. My take on the prospects for the Trump presidency is pretty simple – expect chaos.
Trump has few if any real convictions – he burps out policy positions without serious preparation or regard for what he’s said in the past. He’s much more interested in loyalty and who is being “nice” to him versus strategic thinking. He loves to play upon resentment and fear, and his driving motivations seem to be his ego, brand and business interests.
Frankly, we don’t have a strategic thinker who puts the interests of the country over his own. We have the opposite. It’s easy to imagine countless scenarios where Trump’s erratic behavior coupled with his consistent lack of preparation will exacerbate the challenge or crisis at hand.
Expect chaos . . .
