Tony Smith
Jefferson City
Dear Editor:
My stock portfolio is doing well; I guess that should make Republicans feel good. Trump talks endlessly about the stock market. In 2019, the Financial Times explained how unstable Trump had made worldwide supply chains with his tariffs. International trade was on a pace then to lose a trillion dollars. I told friends that I was severely reducing my stock exposure to less than 14 percent of my portfolio. I now own four stocks and a position in a bond fund. By taking a defensive investment posture, I have done well by limiting exposure to America's most unstable president.
The stock market is a numbers game. But the only numbers we need to keep in mind are these. America is 4.5 percent of the world's population. We have 28.2 percent of the world's deaths by COVID-19. We just surpassed 100,000 deaths in less than three months. That is a massive failure on the part of this country and our government. It is widely reported that Trump was warned in December of 2019 that a health issue was brewing in China. Then he got numerous other warnings by his own staff. Trump has no knowledge of science or most issues important to governance. He possesses no ability to assess risk. Instead he ignores all expert advice from any department in his government. He famously said he knew more than his generals. Who believes that? It is easy to see why America's response to this worldwide health crisis is disastrous.
Trump is mentally unstable, emotionally a wreck and unfit to deal with any major crisis. Americans are at risk in every way possible. Because the virus potentially faces every American family, citizens are paying attention to the lack of leadership from our national government. Americans expect their leaders to tell us the truth. We can handle what needs to be done. We expect government to protect us. Trump's government has failed abjectly. Who hasn't he blamed for his failures?
We learn from mistakes. Who learns from their successes? Donald Trump has never admitted an error. This means he never learns anything. That is clear.
The president has doubled down on wishful thinking. He has not prepared America for opening business as have other nations. Will fantasy win over fact?
Like my stock investments, I advise a defensive posture. That means vote Trump out of office.