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Trump has made America the opposite of great

November 04, 2020
Bloomberg Opinion Today
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Today's Agenda

Election Night Survival Tips

So, how's it going? Have you voted yet? What's keeping you? 

As we discussed yesterday, Election Day in America in 2020 can be harrowing. Here are some things you can do to make it not be so awful:

  • Self-care is important. Breathe deeply. Exercise. Bake cookies. Do all three at once. 
  • Pet an animal. Any animal. Lure a raccoon to your porch if you must. 
  • Make sure you have a go bag stocked with essentials: passports, cash, wigs, etc.
  • Skip early returns and watch one (or more, depending on how long this thing takes) of Jonathan Bernstein's election movie suggestions instead.

And by all means avoid unnecessary rumors, noise and punditry. Bloomberg Opinion, as a full-service opinion provider, will have a handy live blog stocked with actually valuable insights from some of our best political, economic and market minds, including: 

  • John Authers
  • Jonathan Bernstein
  • Robert George
  • Clara Ferreira Marques
  • Tim O'Brien
  • Cathy O'Neil
  • Karl Smith and 
  • Frank Wilkinson.

You can find it here starting at about 7 p.m. New York time and going deep into the night. But also don't forget to sleep: No matter what happens, you'll still probably have to go to work in the morning.

In the Final Analysis, Trump Didn't Make America Great

President Donald Trump may win re-election once the dust settles, giving him four more years to try and Make America Great Again, like it says on the hat he still wears. In his first four years, though, he actually made the country far less great in almost every way, writes Bloomberg's editorial board. The record is damning, on everything from Covid-19 to the country's standing with the rest of the world. Even his supposed economic accomplishments weren't what they seemed, with his bad instincts canceling the effects of his good ones. Given how Trump seems mainly guided by bad instincts lately, there's no doubt another four years would be even more destructive.

Trump didn't even slash regulations nearly as much as he claims, writes Natasha Sarin. Depending on who's counting on any given day, the White House says Trump has killed between seven and 22 regulations for every new one created in the past four years. Natasha checks the math and finds the ratio of economically impactful regulations killed and created is really more like 1:1.

One thing Trump has made great, financially anyway, is Fox News. Propagandizing for the president has been a gold mine for the network. But lately it hasn't been nearly obsequious enough to suit Trump, notes Tara Lachapelle. There are hints his next move would be to launch some kind of Trump TV network, possibly by taking over the truly lapdoggish OAN. This would be very bad news for Fox's bottom line, giving the network another reason to pull for him tonight.

The 2000 Election Is One Revival We Don't Need

Long before the polls closed today, Republicans had already sued to challenge some votes in Pennsylvania, citing the Supreme Court's ruling in Bush v. Gore. Cass Sunstein points out the lawsuit gets that infamous case completely wrong. First, the justices in that case expressly tried to limit their decision to the particulars of the 2000 Florida vote count. They also said the law allows for different places to handle voting in different ways, which is the opposite of the argument the GOP is making today. But we may face many more such lawsuits in the days and weeks ahead. 

Ant Can't (Have an IPO Yet)

In what would have been the biggest piece of news on any other day, Beijing pulled the plug on the record-smashing $35 billion IPO of Ant Group, the Chinese fintech giant. Ant also suspended a Hong Kong IPO until the mess gets sorted out. China's government seems to be punishing Ant co-founder Jack Ma for sounding off on flaws in the country's financial system. Shuli Ren suggests Beijing is also under pressure from Chinese banks to level a regulatory playing field tilted in favor of fintechs such as Ant. But instead of punishing Ant, Beijing should take Ma's critiques to heart.  

Further Reading

China's crackdown on illegal fishing at home is admirable, but it's the world's worst offender when it comes to illegal fishing globally. — Adam Minter 

If the U.S. keeps lagging in the vaccine race, look for vaccine tourism to be a thing, with wealthy Americans paying through the nose to travel to Dubai or wherever they need to get shots. — Tyler Cowen 

Emerging markets seem to have dodged a Covid bullet but can't let down their guard. — Mihir Sharma 

Working from home hurts our creativity, which for many of us is sparked by being around other people. — Ferdinando Giugliano 

ICYMI

Here's the Bloomberg News election live blog and live results.

Early turnout hit 70% of 2016 voting totals.

Trump and Joe Biden's top donors, broken down by company.

Kickers

On second thought, maybe there aren't signs of life on Venus.

America's ocean-plastic pollution is five times worse than scientists thought.

How marine biologists cope with the grief of coral reef destruction.

New Zealand beat Covid but now has too many peacocks.

What to watch on TV tonight besides election coverage.

Note: Please send peacocks and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net.

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