Since the British are used to shaping all major policy decisions in Washington from behind the scenes, it comes as no surprise that London’s The Economist magazine rang in the New Year with a lengthy article profiling the incoming Trump administration, with an eye to getting a handle on controlling what they consider a loose cannon. To all intents and purposes, it reads like a user’s manual to make sure Trump doesn’t derail the economic policies, in particular that Wall Street has put in place for him.
Under the headline “Will Elon Musk Dominate President Trump’s Economic Policy?” the Jan. 2 article pronounces that “It is useful to divide Mr Trump’s acolytes into three groups: conservative mainstreamers, America firsters and tech tycoons.” They reserve special praise for “Scott Bessent, a hedge-fund manager, is due to run Treasury”; National Economic Council head Kevin Hassett; incoming Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald, a broker and investment bank; and Doug Burgum, former governor of North Dakota, to be Interior Secretary.
