Thoughts on the US election

Wow, he's back who'd have thought it? I suspected he was probably ahead - not many would have wanted to admit to being a Trump voter to a pollster.

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Do we have much to worry about? It might feel like time to batten down the hatches, but I would counsel otherwise.

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Trump is a deeply unlikeable human being, no doubt about that and his rhetoric is divisive.

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However, when it comes to actual policies, that actually affect your finances, I don't see much to fear.

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His economic policies and Harris' were so similar as to not matter. And in any event the capital markets always adjust quickly and efficiently to whatever is put in front of them.

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As such there will be no change to TCFP's investment approach.

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Of greater interest, to me at least, is how Trump came to win the presidency once again.

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There is apparently little to like about him and there was little to dislike about Harris.

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So, what happened?

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I put it down to communication.

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The political elite are prone to talking down to the masses and give off the whiff of "there, there plebs, this is all too complicated for you to understand, so just leave it to us" and "if you don't agree with us, you are simply showing your ignorance / racism / misogyny".

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Trump talks to and for the "plebs" - the vast swath of voters who feel unheard and unthought of.

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He says things out loud that many have in their heads.?

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We see this in the UK too - populist politicians are popular for a reason.

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To simply label anyone questioning the orthodoxy as far right / racist / sexist etc. is stupidly dismissive.?

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We can disagree with those concerned about immigration etc. but is it right that we should dismiss their right to be concerned?

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Until mainstream politicians get their heads around this, more Trump like results will follow. In many ways our own election result was against the current tide.

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The established and less divisive political professionals have a clear choice - they can continue to ignore great swathes of the electorate, or they can decide to engage and really listen to what concerns a great many voters.

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Populism will continue to be popular and grow further if they don't.