The Harsh Reality of the Financial Markets Has Ended Trump’s Show

After the U.S. president’s grandstanding over the last few weeks, now is the time for real talks.

Donald Trump loves a show. What a performance it was in the Rose Garden of the White House, as he threw the world into customs chaos with trade union representatives and a big display board, a malicious grin here, a sharp remark there. It is he who holds the strings in his hand, making countries dance. This is how Trump wants to see himself.

To a certain extent, Trump has certainly succeeded. He has caused a global panic and set many talks in motion. Many heads of governments want to negotiate with the U.S. president, while others are standing up to him. The uncertainty is huge. But currently, no business owner can calculate exactly what will happen in the coming months.

However, Trump hasn’t reckoned with the financial markets. The fact that he has sent stock prices worldwide on a downward spiral doesn’t matter to him. His show is all that matters. But as pressure on the U.S. financial system has become too much, the Trump show has come to an end. Investors have divested themselves from government bonds on a large scale. This has threatened to severely disrupt liquidity in the market. Memories of the financial crisis have come flooding back. Tariff pauses were orchestrated.

Now it really is time for talks and deals but sensibly and without cheap effects — because the latter are particularly costly for the U.S.