China Officially ‘Doesn’t Care’ About Trump’s Win—But They are Rattled
China has publicly maintained a calm and neutral stance following President-elect Donald Trump’s return to power, emphasizing principles like “mutual respect” and “peaceful co-existence.” Yet beneath this composed facade, experts suggest Beijing is deeply concerned about the potential direction of U.S.-China relations. Describing Trump’s presidency as a “worst-case scenario,” Chinese officials and citizens alike are bracing for what could be an intensified period of rivalry. Let’s explore why Trump’s victory is making China so nervous, and what this renewed competition could mean for both countries.
Public Calm, Private Concerns
After Trump’s victory, Chinese officials were quick to downplay any fears. Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, insisted that “Our policy towards the U.S. is consistent… We will continue to view and handle China-U.S. relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful co-existence, and win-win cooperation.” However, behind the scenes, the reality appears far different. According to Yuan Juzheng, a professor at National Taiwan University who recently returned from mainland China, many Chinese officials view Trump’s victory as a “worst-case scenario” that could worsen the already tense relationship between the two superpowers.
Trade Worries: Tariffs and Economic Pressures
One of China’s main concerns revolves around trade. In his first term, Trump’s trade war with China brought economic hardship to Beijing, with tariffs targeting Chinese technology giants and consumer goods. Now, experts believe Trump may impose even harsher trade restrictions. The President-elect has previously proposed tariffs as high as 60% on Chinese imports and suggested removing China’s “most-favored-nation” trading status. These potential policies would have a significant impact, as China exports over $400 billion annually to the U.S.
The timing of these renewed trade pressures is particularly concerning for China, as the nation is already grappling with economic slowdowns. “Beijing is particularly wary of a potential revival of the trade war under Trump, especially as China currently faces significant internal economic challenges,” explained Tong Zhao, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Increased tariffs would not only affect China’s growth but could also create social instability, as economic strain filters down to the average citizen through job losses and rising prices.
Technology Decoupling: A New Economic Frontline
Beyond trade, Trump’s stance on technology is causing further anxiety. During his previous administration, the U.S. imposed restrictions on Chinese tech companies, blocking their access to essential American technology. Experts believe this “decoupling” of the U.S. and Chinese technology sectors could continue under Trump, potentially freezing China out of critical advancements in semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and other high-tech industries.
For China, losing access to U.S. technology would be a severe setback in its pursuit of global tech leadership. “China also expects Trump to accelerate the decoupling of technologies and supply chains,” Zhao noted, adding that such restrictions could “threaten China’s economic growth and indirectly impact its social and political stability.” In response, China is likely to double down on its push for technological self-sufficiency and may even seek closer partnerships with allies like Russia to fill the gap left by U.S. restrictions.
Taiwan: A Potential Flashpoint
Of all the issues, Taiwan presents perhaps the most immediate risk. Trump’s approach to Taiwan during his first term was often interpreted as supportive of the island’s autonomy, which Beijing views as a threat to its sovereignty. Taiwanese leaders quickly congratulated Trump on his election, with President William Lai expressing confidence that Taiwan-U.S. relations will continue to “serve as a cornerstone for regional stability.” Trump has suggested that Taiwan should contribute financially for U.S. defense support, a position that raises tensions for Beijing.
“Trump’s victory may pose a relatively large challenge to Sino-U.S. relations,” said Da Wei, director at Tsinghua University’s Center for International Security and Strategy. Beijing has already conducted military drills around Taiwan as a show of strength, and Trump’s return could lead to an escalation of these displays, potentially bringing the two countries closer to a direct conflict. China’s leaders fear that Trump’s unpredictable stance on Taiwan may leave them little choice but to respond assertively, further straining the already fragile U.S.-China relationship.
Global Influence: Competing on the World Stage
With Trump back in office, Chinese strategists expect a continued push for global influence and economic competition. Rather than isolating itself, the Trump administration has historically worked to strengthen alliances, especially in countering China’s ambitions. Experts expect that Trump’s return will mean a more competitive stance from the U.S. toward China in international spheres, as America seeks to lead in global affairs and curb China’s influence in regions like the Asia-Pacific and Africa.
In anticipation, China has been working to build its own network of alliances. Recently, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and reached out to Japan’s new administration, signaling Beijing’s intent to strengthen its position in the Asia-Pacific region. However, Trump’s focus on reinforcing U.S. leadership in these areas may limit China’s expansion efforts.
Economic Volatility: Market Reactions to Trump’s Return
The markets in China immediately responded to Trump’s victory, with the yuan experiencing its largest one-day drop in two years, while stocks listed in Hong Kong fell as well. Analysts predict that Trump’s policies, including potential tariffs and other trade restrictions, will create continued volatility. Chinese state-owned banks have already stepped in to stabilize the yuan, but experts believe that the economic tension is likely to persist as Trump’s trade measures take effect.
“We expect the volatility of the yuan will pick up in the short term as a knee-jerk reaction to Trump’s victory,” said Cary Yeung, head of Greater China debt at Pictet Asset Management. For China, managing this economic turmoil will require careful intervention from both the central bank and government officials to prevent market instability. Some experts have speculated that if tariffs return, China might consider depreciating its currency to relieve export pressure, though this could increase U.S.-China tension.
While China publicly insists on its commitment to “mutual respect” with the U.S., the reality behind the scenes suggests a growing sense of unease. Trump’s victory brings the likelihood of tariffs, technology restrictions, and rising tensions over Taiwan—all of which make Chinese officials nervous about the future. For the U.S., a renewed trade war could lead to higher prices for consumers and increased uncertainty in global markets. China, on the other hand, may find itself doubling down on economic self-sufficiency and seeking alliances to counterbalance U.S. influence.
As Professor Yuan aptly noted, the next four years under Trump’s leadership represent a “worst-case scenario” for China. However, this intensified rivalry could also push China to strengthen its global ties, particularly with nations in the Asia-Pacific, and redefine its role in the international order. The path forward is uncertain, but one thing is clear: the relationship between the U.S. and China will shape global politics, economics, and technology in profound ways for years to come.
Nothing worse than rattling china.
Suddenly, Trumpers like Dan are listening to “elite” experts, go figure. Too bad he didn’t do that during covid when Trump’s malfeasance of a response, his lack of listening to experts, murdered over $250K of our citizens. Believe the thought was, fuck em, they’re old.
Point is either believe the experts, at least cautiously, or not. But don’t waver based on whether the experts agree with your preconceived notions or not.
Actually Frank, I think Trump probably killed up to 500K because of his three month late response. I lost two elderly clients that when I look back on their deaths and the struggles we had to keep them alive, they had Covid back in Feb 2020 when Trump had yet to announce that we had a Covid problem. Trump was called on Dec. 27th by President Xi about the problem and on the phone call, Xi said, “It’s going to be really bad.” Trump’s response was “not on my watch denial”. Then Trump came out with hydroxychloroquin and drink bleach and shine UV on our guts to solve the problem and then he said, “It will magically go away.” Then came the “oh shit” moment at the death toll climbed and Operation Warp Speed was created to catch up for the time that Trump caused us to lose. What an idiot! This proved very deadly to folks over 50. What a shame. What an unprosecutable offense! And recently on an interview, Obama said they passed a fully complete pandemic response plan and fully explained it to Trump and his team. Obama said that he thinks Trump either put it on a shelf to collect dust or simply got rid of it. Very sad. Many folks needlessly lost their lives.
Thank you Frank for proving your incompetence with your comments.
I also believe Trump was the one who wanted to shut down the airports to keep
the spread from getting worse.
But was told No!
Your experts in Dem cities are what killed the old!
Remember the nursing homes while Trump had military ships
waiting to house the sick!
Do you remember thinks wrong on purpose?
Actually Darren, shutting down the airports had only partially to do with Covid. Trump also wanted to do that because of his perception of Muslim Terrorists getting into the country from Iran and other proxy countries, and his general dislike for Muslims. Shutting down the airports was all part of the this travel ban issued on Jan 31, 2020.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that Democrats have “loudly criticized and protested” his imposition of the travel restrictions, and have called the decision “racist.” But while leading Democrats have been outspoken in their criticism of the president’s overall response to the epidemic, very few have criticized his decision to impose limited travel restrictions. Read the truth at *https://www.factcheck.org/2020/03/the-facts-on-trumps-travel-restrictions/*
Yes I do remember the military hospital ships. There were two of them, that’s all, The USNS Comfort, and USNS Mercy. That would not have made a dent in the numbers. The most sickly were in nursing homes and could not be transported. I know, I managed the care of two of them! Frank is correct, the malfeasance was Trump’s lack of response and getting the word out to all Americans. Also during this time of no response, China notified all its nationals abroad to buy up all of the masks and send them to China. This resulted in us Americans not having masks.
Also Darren, you need to understand military hospital ships. They have 1000 beds each and up to 15 or so operating rooms. These ships are generally used for battle casualties, not pandemic responses – thus they are equipped to deal with wound care, not pandemic related care. The conditions of those beds are generally what we naval veterans call “open quarters”. There are no special insulating or quarantining provisions on these ships, often not even curtains. In this case, the intent was to free up hospital beds in New York (only) by shipping non-covid younger patients to the hospital ships thereby freeing up beds in hospitals where quarantines can be established. The hospital ships were never intended to take on Covid patients by Trump. Here is a good article for you to enhance your knowledge at *https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-says-hospital-ships-heading-coronavirus-battle-navy-says-they-n1163081*
I hope this will correct your lens on both of the issues you point out in your comment to Frank.
Tom, if you really think Trump is so bad, such a horrible criminal, arrest him yourself. then find the REAL REASONS all of that happened. Mercy and Comfort were there for other reasons, too, but I don’t think you care about that. Evidently children mean NOTHING to you. That’s what is so sad.
AF, I have left you alone for a while now. You cried and whined about how mean I was to you. Well, that is all over now. But again, you show your warped paranoia. and senseless suggestions. As usual, you do not know shit and just and only garbage comes forth from your wretched mouth. Now take your meds and stick to your therapy schedule.
Well. Tom almost every single word you said against me is actually all about you! We ALL see you whining and unmanly crying with every single drop of your tears! At least I say what I believe. I talk about what I truly believe and for the absolute truth. Nothing wrong with sticking up for what one believes in. Same for you. Unless you are a coward have Trump arrested so you can live a life of concentration camps, bugs for food, and all the trimmings of communism. that is not what God wanted for us and neither do I and not even for you. It won’t matter to me what happens in our futures, I have a plan B and C. Also, if you hate me so damned much, come and kill me yourself! It is probably what you want to do anyway when you try to reply to me with disgusting, horrible Satanic rot! Coward! Come on – I am waiting for you! Big man! You haven’t even been posting so much lately so how is it you have left me alone when you haven’t been on here? Been in jail? I DO NOT BELIEVE A WORD OF ALL YOUR LIES!
AF, you are seriously screwed up! LOL I have been spending my time managing wealth and doing remodeling. Personally, I do not care about you. And by your own words, you do not care about others. Well, I do care. Your worthless screed loaded with idiot requests shows just how mentally ill you really are! Now take your meds old man and DO NOT miss your therapy sessions!
Covid was a gift from China to destroy Trump. And it got out of hand. And then the democrats stole the election and put a retard in office. But we survived. I never got vaccinated and never will. I’m still standing.
Yeah damn shame the gift didn’t work. Trump got treatment therapies that you and I cannot get. Talk about a hypocrite!
Jim; who cares where it started. How Trump mishandled it is my focus.
The facts are clear; compared to most countries in the world, our response sucked. I have posted the evidence below and Trump’s response delivered us a 222 position out of 238 countries.
My spouse and I are vaccinated and never got it. My kids were vaxed at got light doses.
Point is our response sucked, Trump’s messaging murdered more as the layer waves nailed unvaxed red areas much worse than vaxed blue areas. Although the blue areas were more heavily ravaged is the first wave
The numbers are crystal clear. the counters are not political or biased. It is what it is but when Trump faced a quick moving. rapidly evolving. fluid emergency, he screwed the pouch. Like throwing t-shirts to hurricane victims, he just did not help v
He did speed the vaccine development, that’s blessing. but even here his distribution plan was more concept than plan. Biden had to build from scratch on the fly. Thank God our scientists had been working this newer vaccine technology for a decade to allow faster development. Trump will kill that kind of research. He has before.
But luck or skill, I’ll take luck. In this case, we had both. Then Trump gets his vax in secret so as to not bruise his anti-vaxer voters. Yeah, defender of the nation.
Trump lost the election. fair and square, Covid is part of the reason. But look at the from wiki and tell me ranking 222 is good. And if we rated 100, 50% of the deaths would be avoided. That’s criminal.
Darren, AF, and Tom:
First, Darren, the President is responsible for defense of the nation from all enemies, foreign and domestic. No mayor can do what the President can.
Trump called out Mercy and Comfort, our medical ships, each with about 1,000 beds, one to LA and one to my city, NY. The reason was due to Trump’s response, the hospitals were overflowing, we were stacking bodies in refrigeration trucks, it was getting pretty fucking dicey. By that time the old folks homes were depleted and YES, our governor failed miserably in that and not sure where the lawsuits stand. I live in the next band just outside this hell and we were taking extreme precautions. As Tom said, between wishing it away and suggest whacko cures, Trump dropped the ball on this. Thank God he blasted the vaccine through, but then he fucked that up with the messaging even to the point of getting his in secret.
Who cases. The math on this is ez. Just go to *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_death_rates_by_country* where the deaths by country are listed. Use the death rate to level the playing field. Note that, under Trump’s initial guidance and response, the US comes in at 222 out of 238, and in the bad way. Now the death rate per million, cut it in half, and you can easily see we would come in about 169 or 170. IOW — if we cut our deaths in half, we would save half those souls and still fucking come in at 170 out of 238 countries. Imagine if we hit the top 100!!!! Under Trump, we lost big time and lots of people died needlessly — some say that’s murder.
NOW, before you say, Biden did worse, you have to know Trump set up Biden, not purposely I contend, but timing wise. BUT, if you use the PEW assessment, look at the death-line and you can easily see how Biden’s stage was set by Trump’s response and due to Biden getting the vaccine distributed, the fall. There is no guarantee Trump would have done better with the vaccine, and if you research his distribution plan, where he does try to sabotage Biden, its shit. Don’t matter, the die was cast on Trump’s watch.
Then use Pew results to see how Trump messaging set the stage for:
– the disease which initially crushed our cities morphed to a more severe rural problem over time
– the disease which initially hit urban democrats morphed to a more severe Republican problem over time.
Forget all the small stuff though and just focus on the US being 222 out of 238 and how many lives would be saved if we had been average instead of special. Tom is right, the number approached half a million, most of us know someone affected, as in dead. Guess what, if you knew two, statistically one could have been saved with a decent response. But Tom, the “experts” claim 250K estimate and I am guessing other factors special to the US come into play. Business Insider quotes 40% unnecessary, closer to Tom’s number.
I think between the WIKI numbers and the PEW charts, anyone who can fog a mirror pretty much can see we blew it and hundreds of thousands died because of our failure.
So glad he’s back. How many must die this time?
FYI folks: starting in 2024, I am not too hot on Biden’s response where he sacrifices citizens to have a better shot at his candidacy. Tracking systems brought down. Went from daily stats to weekly stats. Moved from number to red, yellow, green, crap metrics. All bullshit to hide the truth and give him a better chance at the White House. He made me ashamed of my vote for that.
We are the strongest, smartest, richest place around and some of us got away with, “it’s just another flu.” I was wondering why we have fucked up on the flu for so long. Even today, go to Florida in flu season, go to a nursing home, do you see any masks? Fuck em, they’re old…… I say the flu numbers are too high and let’s save those people too.
ENOUGH.
*https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/03/03/the-changing-political-geography-of-covid-19-over-the-last-two-years/*
Sorry. here’s the pee link.
Pew considered center bias I think.
Frank, I think where the confusion in the “experts” numbers come in is some only view a Covid death as a death of someone who was otherwise healthy and should not have died, except for Covid. Some view a Covid death as an underlying condition that cause early expiration of a body already plagued with diseases such as COPD, Diabetes, and Hypertension. In the case of my two clients, they both had two or more chronic illnesses that we were managing well. When they got Covid, it damaged their bodies to the point where their immune system was overloaded and they died. Because of Trump’s lies at the time, Feb 2020, we did not know about Covid so their COD was listed as Pneumonia with complications. They should have listed their COD simply as “Trump”. That would have been accurate. He caused their deaths!
Nope, Tom, I think it’s more the 250 K is an early reckoning, an early estimate.
Now, over two years out, the numbers are beginning to tell a more compelling picture. I would also suggest based on what you talked about with the actual cause of death first of all the other things that might’ve been going on, That Covid death may have been over-counted. So, perhaps the number is high overall, but as we like to say in DC, good enough for government work.
Also, in the statistics that I provided, they are just numbers. There is no accounting for country or cultural differences that may have caused this. Kind of like the old gun trick that says no two countries are the same when it comes to guns, chances are that no two countries are exactly the same when it came to Covid.
However, when we read 222 out of 238, I don’t think we need to know how many angels dance on the head of a pin to know that we suck. And whether the number is 250,000, 400,000, or 500,000, it sucks too.
Frankly, One of my learnings from the Covid experience is that we have been complacent about flu deaths for decades. Ranging from 20,000 to 60,000 a year, I would put good money down that we could reduce that number significantly, maybe 50%, if we just forced nursing home workers to wear a mask and get vaccinated. I am guessing all residents are vaccinated, but if not, that should be mandatory too.
When I think about how much effort we put into making our automobile safe, but we put our old people at such a risk without even thinking about it, I think it Americans we can do better. Especially if we don’t have someone like Trump managing an emergency.
I almost can’t wait to see the cluster fuck he calls mass deportation as it gets underway. I expect a carnival of errors.
First, how many lives did Trump save by producing a vaccine in record time? Any Democrat you can think of who could have done that? Certainly not Biden. More people died under Biden even with a vaccine in hand. So while you are crunching numbers that you don’t understand, you might want to factor that in.
Second, liberals always like to talk like they are God with absolute power. “Those people should be forced to wear masks” “Every should have to do this” “Everyone should have to do that.” People have rights and freedoms, and they don’t want to live in a country where woke liberal bullshitters can make them do stuff that you think is for their own good.
Joe, you bring up some interesting points. First, everyone got the vaccine basically at the same time, most countries got it after we did. And yet our results suck. 222 out of 238 countries Joe.
Yes, Biden‘s numbers were worse. However, if you look at the trend line provided in the pew documents, it’s pretty obvious that the Biden numbers that were terrible were actually Trump numbers following in the first months after Biden‘s ascendancy to the throne. It is Trump‘s response, it is Trump‘s messaging, that set the stage for what happened in Biden, and then yes, I gave Trump credit for the vaccine Which Biden enjoyed shortly thereafter. However, 222 out of 238 all initiated with the Trump response is a suck number.
As far as mandates, etc., give it a rest. You have mandates, bans and more. And frankly, yours are much more political and ideological than ours. You probably wouldn’t buy a ladder unless it was OSHA certified. But yet you have no issue with health certification and have no problem with standing in a cesspool of six people who really don’t give a shit about whether you catch it or not. Matter fact, you don’t seem to give a shit whether they give it to you or not. That ain’t liberty, that ain’t freedom, that’s just being dumb as a brick.. Not that you are, but someone who thinks masking and distancing is some sort of cry for freedom is ridiculous.
Yes, good points Frank. There was no guidance from the CDC on how to classify deaths involving Covid. In my mind there should have been at least two classifications, Covid death, and Covid assisted death. Even though it is splitting hairs, it would have given us some info as far as how many people with good immune systems could not stand up to Covid. Most of the clients that I had died from Covid as the reason for death but there were underlying conditions that weakened their immune systems so that Covid had an easy time overwhelming their immune systems. The rapid reproduction of Covid cells far outweighed the ability of my client’s immune systems to be able to stay ahead of the invasion.
In the SNF’s (skilled nursing facilities) that I was in, all workers were vaccinated and wore masks. BUT! Visitors came in hodge podge, some with masks, some were given them when they were available, and we usually did not know if they were vaccinated. I am sure some were anti-vaxers. And it only takes one infected visitor to kill many when you have those kind of immune systems.
Yes we do tend on treating seasonal flu with the nonchalant expectation that 20-60K will die, many will be elderly. Its like its baked into the system and our expectations so its no big deal. I often wonder if its this way because it lowers government costs, thus no need to be aggressive about it. Lets face it, each senior that dies is one less Medicare and SS recipient. Every year, I monitored my patient clients very closely with weekly visits and recording vitals and making sure they had their immunizations. Often that was work not paid, I just did it because I cared, and, I hated going to the funerals because they become your friends and kind of like family. .
Yes it is right to question our priorities. We try to make autos so safe but do little about mass shootings, gun control in general, etc. Keep questioning!
Tom, good to see you made a new friend and he/she/it invited you over for some fun. I had the invite, but sadly could not attend, no address, no State except confusion. Amazingly, she admits everything you say is what she says about you. Not sure she gets the mirror concept or how childish it is.
How the wealth management going; if you have it to manage, that’s a great start!. Me, I got my toes wet a year or so ago, turned out bad, escaped at breakeven or tad better. With the election coming, I took a flyer and bought drill-baby-drill Chevron, pretty good hunk given a value stock on the downside. It’s been good and post election, great, although it’s dividend time and may be seeing that ride. But crossed 5% profit, so put the trailing lower limit in to assure a payday. And yesterday, another 2% on top!. My limit is tight, so probably sell on next downturn. Then I will take the spouse to Disney to spend thousands of free money at a DEI corporation. Gonna get me a YUGE rental EV SUV, good accommodations in my favorite spot, and one night at the California Grill, tradition! But basically still CDs. They started dropping but with the election, rose a bit so I am back in. I have a lot around 5% but they are callable and being called. Luckily mostly the short term. Oh yeah, my Disney stock is finally showing signs of life; these guys are freaking brilliant businesspeople. Their streaming story is freaking MBA business case material.
I have also started shedding inheritance to the kids; they are starting to learn the world of investing too. One is killing in the market, small change, but he had NVIDIA for example. Life is good, I wish I felt the same about the future. Hope you and yours are doing good too.
Down to it: covid vs. other causes of death. Tom, in the beginning no one with sound mind would autopsy a covid case. Not sure where that stands today, but I would not blame them for not wanting to be in a hazmat suit cutting bodies open. That was one problem. Personally, with over a million dead, parsing out who’s on first is not significant enough against over 1,000,000 bodies. I think Florida did something in this area, but DeSantis is not transparent having been accused on misrepresentation a few times. By the endo of 2020, DeSantis changed the count method by firing the counter. But during the summer he was telling officials to skip it if busy. By fall, his pediatric deaths did not reconcile with schools counts, DeSantis was skipping this too. The DeSantis cut the demographics hiding the death toll between the crackers and minorities. This was overturned by lawsuit. In June of 21, he declared covid over and stopped reporting. For the nation, covid ended in May of 23. As Trump says, if you don’t count em, you don’t see em, they don’t exist. Something tells me that’s the mantra for many of his upcoming “accomplishments.” August of 21 was Florida’s worse month. Hard to know that if you live in Florida. At the end of 23, after declaring itself innocent in State courts, Florida lost it’s two year lawsuit to cover it’s covid tracks and was forced to release the data. For years, I had been saying here, to Horist’s horror, belittling, and shaming, that something was wrong in the Florida count. You can’t have that few deaths with that many cases. I was right, Horist is wrong.
Point is that no matter how you count, no matter what you include or exclude, the US response under King Trump SUCKED. And still sucks today under Biden. (hah, be sure you count that one, righties….)
Tom, still today I am flabbergasted about folk’s emotions over masks. Vaccines I can tolerate, don’t understand based on science, but can tolerate. But a mask? Distancing? These are the hills some people want to die on? Amazing. I am glad though that, so far, everyone has been very accommodating to our masking, family included, and even service people I hand a mask to, are very nice about it. Just one guy, libertarian, who is my handyman has an issue. We grant the mulligan. I use the South Korean kf94 from LG though amazon —– works like kn95, wears like blue paper, very light. Known as the fish mask, it has “gills” on the side you can pull for fit. If your glasses are steaming, pull the gills and your vision is gleaming. Pretty amazing.
Moral of my story: 1.5 billion Chinese cannot be wrong, I wear the mask if in a crowd.
And the US response sucked, our counting methodology today is shameful, Biden let us down to run for second term, and I probably won’t die from this, but will wear the mask during cold n flu season —– forever. We had a saying after training: KMAYOYO —- Kiss my ass, you’re on your own. That’s where I am at.
What remodeling did you accomplish? Mine is quite weird.
Markets opening, got CDs to buy: ttfn.
Hi Frank! Yes I agree, Trump’s response sucked bigtime and his minions made it worse by being antivaxers and anti maskers. I never understood their emotion to it either. They kept talking about rights under the constitution. I kept talking about the right of others not to be exposed to sickness in public places. Most people I know that wore masks and had vaccines got through the pandemic. Several around here that did not do as recommended, well they are no longer with us. So to me, the proof is in the pudding.
Yeah my psychotic blog friend keeps giving me invites. I stayed away from her comments to give her a rest. But she just had to start bashing me again, which I do not mind. What I do mind is her “bash and whine” approach.
I have been doing some buying lately but not much. Did pick up some oil (BP), some Pharma (GSK), and one other energy company that I forget at the moment. Much of my work has been on rebalancing and doing a little selling to limit exposure in what I consider to be a bit of a perilous time right now. Trump will cause much confusion and you know how markets feel about that! So I have been putting some in CDs since the settlement account rate is now down to 4.8% Also, I have been working on home remodeling projects that are overdue and using them to slowly bleed down the 401K while putting more money in a high interest account from my pensions and SS money. I am wanting to lower my 401K to limit RMD taxes at 73 which for me is 4.6 years away. My goal is to reduce 401K money by $100K. I like home projects because values of real estate go up and so while I may pay some taxes now on the withdrawal, I make it up in home appreciation. Also, when I did my 2023 taxes you know I had a change of marital status. I discovered that since my deductions went up due to the change, I was leaving over $13K of deductions on the table with no income to cancel it out. So taking a matching amount out of the 401K (and maybe a little more) out each year for home projects that raise the value of the house seems like a win-win since the deductions cover the withdrawal.
I would like to buy a new car but between prices being up and being to busy to drive it much anyway, and the Corvette and truck are running great, I am just holding off for another year to see what happens in the auto market. If Trump has his way, he will crash the economy for at least a short while and we will see lower auto prices – and I am locked and loaded, ready to buy when the time is right. LOL
Yes I have been wearing masks in public places during flu season and also have altered my schedules to do my food shopping during hours when not many people are in the store. Since I live in the country, I do not have many neighbors thus little worry about population transfer. My biggest exposure is when we go overseas to my i’s house for vacations. Crowded big planes, big cities, etc. Time to take the imuno boosters! LOL
I got really pissed off when I heard Obama talk about how he gave Trump a big binder with a complete plan for pandemic response that his administration did in 2015. He says Trump never used it and he does not know what happened to it. To me, Trump was so vain that he would rather people die than use a plan left for that specific purpose! So no matter what the numbers, we know we have a POTUS that cares more about himself than others, and a classic example to prove it. And now he is picking unqualified ass kisser and conspiracy theorists for his cabinet. Maybe my little friend can apply for a position. She seems to sign up to all of their conspiracy theories.
Ciao!