Brave New World

The Enablers and the Opportunity 22/01/2026

Why is Trump able to do what he does? Because the opposition has crumbled. There was a very telling discussion on Squawk on the Street this morning (22nd January) following the Trump change of heart on Greenland in Davos. CNBC is, for those of us opposed to the authoritarian takeover of the US, a disheartening watch, as financiers and corporate CEOs, along with the likes of Sarah Eisen and Joe Kernan, clammer to sane-wash the madness of the White House. All are experts in double think communications- their jobs are dependent on being able to spin how unexplained market movements didn’t in fact catch them off guard and why their predictions, despite being wrong in the past, are worth parting your money for.

The first hour of Squawk on the Street is presented by Carl Quintanilla, David Faber and Jim Cramer. Cramer has succumbed over the last year to sane washing Trump, while the others are noble in their pursuit of reason, rationality and dispassionate analysis. However, today he let slip the conversations he has been having with CEOs over the last year and their refusal to say anything critical of Trump, his administration and his record. The other presenters concurred. It was not just that the CEOs were avoiding controversy as part of their fiduciary responsibilities- to dodge attacks by the administration, but that his extended to fears for personal safety- including their families!

The way that this was presented on the leading financial television network- speaking softly, raising eyebrows, seeking to convey to the audience what is actually happening as below the radar as they are able- is extraordinarily chilling. Freedom of speech longer exists in the largest financial news channel or, seemingly, in corporate America. The casual US investor, admittedly, among the richer sections of society that watches CNBC (professional investors I know shy away from this circus) and values its information, is being blindsided about the state of the US economy. Why? Because of fear.

A little later in the same show macroeconomics sage Mohamed El-Erian was asked about the relief rally following the Greenland announcement by Trump. As diplomatic as ever, he argued there was a battle between those who view these reality TV confrontations of maximalist TACO tactics as great opportunities to buy on dips, and those who view a long terms corrosion of trust between allies and a reassessment by foreign investors on overweight US assets positions.

In short, enablers are misinforming US investors about the long term damage that is being done to the US economy by the Trump administration. This is leading to an overvaluation of US assets- soon to be divested by a very pissed off continent notorious for its long memories. Crisis is a fusion of danger and opportunity. Sell America.