The US Presidential election reaches polling day today, and I’m not sure if I’m relieved or sad that the circus is preparing to leave town.
In a world where the bizarreness of human behaviour has become an everyday thing to be viewed and laughed at on the internet, this election has surpassed all previous bounds of batcrap crazy. Donald has insulted pregnant women, same sex couples, overweight women, Muslims, ex-servicemen, Mexicans, Latinos, women in general, the laws of economics, humanity and sanity.
Hillary has demonstrated the warmth and charisma of an iceberg, misappropriated state secrets and employed as her chief of staff the wife of an ex-congressman who was forced to resign for texting ‘racy’ pictures to women other than his wife.
His name is Anthony ‘Weiner’ (which is what he was taking pictures of !); you couldn’t make this stuff up.
The plot has been honestly more far-fetched than any political satire would ever dare go because it just wouldn’t be credible. For satire to work it must be an absurd extension of reality, and this election has been way beyond that.
It’s been riveting, horrifying, compulsive, repulsive and downright scary but the finale is today and there won’t be another series until 2020.
‘The’ Donald has been the star of the show and has demonstrated that if you love yourself unconditionally, don’t care what you say or what people think and are prepared to exploit the basest populism appealing to the lowest common denominator of phobias, then with a ton of swag and charisma you will find an audience.
A billionaire living a gilded existence with zero concern; in fact total disdain previously for the working class recasting himself as the champion of the Tea Party fanatics.
If nothing else you’ve got to admire the role he’s played but there’s nothing else to admire. All that being said it looks pretty likely (and post the Brexit experience no election is plainly a sure thing in advance) that Hillary will win, Congress will remain Republican-controlled and probably the Senate too.
Hillary is a bright lady with huge experience and will be an effective commander in chief, with limited ability to effect change without Congressional control.
The world’s stock markets will breathe a huge sigh of relief and look for the next source of worry.
The dollar will probably strengthen, certainly the Mexican Peso will; they won’t have to pay for a wall(!) and all will be back to normal.
But here’s the thing, Trump could have won and without that tape of him talking about forcing himself on women he may very well have done.
Knowing that America could have elected Donald as their leader, for me anyway, means normal ain’t normal anymore.
Note: This is written in a personal capacity and reflects the view of the author. It does not necessarily reflect the view of LWM Consultants. The post has been checked and approved to ensure that it is both accurate and not misleading. However, this is a blog and the reader should accept that by its very nature many of the points are subjective and opinions of the author. Individuals wishing to buy any product or service as a result of this blog must seek advice or carry out their own research before making any decision, the author will not be held liable for decisions made as a result of this blog (particularly where no advice has been sought). Investors should also note that past performance is not a guide to future performance and investments can fall as well as rise.