Politics aside, Donald Trump is far and away the worst thing that could have happened to America, and the world, this past election season.
The economic repercussions of Trump are far-reaching and global in scale. Prior to the election, the Brazilian Real was the best-performing currency in the world against the U.S. dollar. Since the election, the Real has lost at least 9 percent of its value. This will undoubtedly pose further problems for Rio de Janeiro state as it’s compelled by the Brazilian government to pay back the debts it owes, as well as many workers in the state that have gone months without wages.
Though Trump has said that if elected, he would have China labelled a currency manipulator, consider a 45 percent tariff on Chinese imports, and bring cases against Beijing to the World Trade Organization, China still stands to gain massively from a Trump presidency. The TPP is as good as dead under a Trump presidency, allowing China unfettered influence in and access to Asia, thereby undermining our economic leverage against China. Furthermore, critical relationships between the U.S. and countries like Japan and South Korea would surely be strained, jeopardizing our foothold in throughout the region.
The country that stands to lose the most economically from a Trump presidency, however, is Mexico. The death of NAFTA, tariffs on Mexican goods, and the expulsion of 5 million alleged illegal Mexican immigrants would have profound economic impacts for both the U.S. and Mexico. Trade would slow and flows of direct foreign investments would dry up. On our side, prices of goods imported from Mexico would rise, effecting their prevalence in the U.S. market. Factories in Mexico would shut down, hindering the country’s one true path of development and likely only creating more reasons for Mexican immigration to the U.S. On top of that, millions of repatriated workers would have to be absorbed, possibly leading to widespread economic turmoil and unemployment in Mexico.
Then of course there is the matter of Trump’s foreign policy. He has proposed a diminished or entirely nonexistent American role in NATO as well as defense treaties with Japan and South Korea. Across the globe, Trump favors moving away from traditional U.S. allies and toward our adversaries. This could very well prove disastrous for world affairs. An emboldened Russia or China would likely cause all manner of chaos in their respective regions, not to mention the fallout we incur through our support of them. Let us not forget that Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons against his own people. Let us not forget that despite its official name, “the people” in China hold little real power. Let us not forget that Vladimir Putin is a former KGB agent, is responsible for the “disappearances” of hundreds or even thousands of his own citizens, and has aggressively annexed Crimea in much the same way the Nazis annexed the majority of European countries prior to World War II.
One could cite the less concrete aspects of Trump (his temperament, comments on women and minorities, complete lack of political experience, and what seems to be a complete ignorance of the ways the modern world works) as evidence of his lack of presidential qualification. However, I firmly believe the things I have already laid out speak for themselves. Donald Trump is the single most unqualified individual ever to run for, and presumably attain, the office of President of the United States. Unfortunately, too many Americans failed to grasp this. Hopefully, the world we live in is still intact enough 4 years from now to salvage the situations Donald Trump is hell-bent on bringing to fruition.