God help Donald Trump’s critics. The paroxysms they have after the mogul–turned–GOP nominee’s policy pronouncements can’t be good for their health.
The latest is a real hoot. For dealing with our enormous national debt, Trump wants to do what he does best: negotiate with creditors. How so? By pressuring bondholders to accept a haircut on their payments. And if they don’t like the terms? Well, they’ll get their money by hook or by crook.
In an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, Trump gave a brutally honest take on our dismal fiscal prospects. “We owe so much money—nobody talks about it. Nobody talks about it until the bubble pops,” he told the stone-faced hosts. When asked if he thought the U.S. government should pay 100 cents on the dollar for its debt, Trump replied, “I would borrow knowing that if the economy crashed you could make a deal. And if the economy was good it was good so therefore, you can’t lose.”
On CNN, Trump clarified his comments and declared that the U.S. government would never default on its debt “because you print the money.” He went further, stating, “If we have an opportunity where interest rates go up and you can buy debt back at a discount, I always like to be able to do that if you can do it.”
Like a curious child touching a hot pan handle, the outcry from the financial commentariat was piercing.
The New York Times described Trump’s comments as having “no modern precedent.” Patrick Chovanec of the Silvercrest Asset Management Group called it “irresponsible talk.” The Economist said it was a “completely nonsensical idea.” Kevin Drum of Mother Jones proclaimed that “Donald Trump Still Has No Idea How Government Debt Works.” One of the #NeverTrump crybabies at the RedState blog asked, “Are we sufficiently panicked, yet?”
In 2016, eight years after the financial crisis, it’s hard to take any mainstream voice seriously on economics. The very people who missed the housing bubble, and the subsequent damage was done to the average man’s 401(k), are in no position to criticize Trump’s sober approach to national finance.
