Should Asian leaders be worried about Trump? Hell yes. The world managed to survive the disastrous presidency of George W. Bush, but the alarming prospect of a Trump presidency recently prompted 50 senior Republican national security officials, including former aides and Cabinet members, to sign a letter declaring he "would be the most reckless president in American history." Trumpkins like it when they make the Republican establishment uncomfortable, but the world really doesn't need more of their jingoism, racism and isolationism.
What would a Trump presidency be like? Hopefully not a financial Armageddon, but markets are spooked by the prospects of trade wars — his election is expected to spark a sell-off in Asian bourses. The anticipated cratering of the U.S. economy, stoked by Trump's "America First" protectionism — the economic equivalent of Ebola — will batter the global economy.
Trump thinks he is a brilliant negotiator but he is out of his depth. In a September article for The New Yorker, journalist Evan Osnos recalls Trump offering advice to a U.S. nuclear-arms negotiator on how to cut a "terrific" deal with the Soviets: "Trump told him to arrive late, stand over the Soviet negotiator, stick his finger in his chest, and say, 'F—- you!' "
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