Summary
Robert Reich argues that Wall Street, not political or institutional checks, will be the primary constraint on Donald Trump’s upcoming presidency.
While Trump’s cabinet includes disruptive figures like RFK Jr. and Pete Hegseth, his pick for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, a hedge fund manager tied to Wall Street, signals an intent to reassure financial markets.
Wall Street’s fear of inflation and stock market instability could curb Trump’s tariff plans, despite their populist appeal.
Ultimately, Reich criticizes the reliance on markets, rather than democratic mechanisms, to limit Trump’s power.
Who thought it would be? I see Musk’s name come up repeatedly in the article, but I don’t know why he’d think this or even why he’d be mad about this since he owes his vast fortunes to wall street. I could imagine cryptocurrency clowns thinking Trump would give them an anti-wall street cabinet, but they’re too stupid to realize that bitcoin is valued as high as it is now because of wall street, even though these same clowns were cheering so hard about bitcoin ETFs being approved a short while ago.