Trump is ignoring markets at his own peril. Just ask former British PM Liz Truss

Before the 47th US president, there was another blond(e) with a distaste for economic orthodoxy setting fire to financial markets. The Parable of Liz Truss should be required reading for Trump.

Donald Trump has repeatedly ignored warnings from businesses and economists against imposing tariffs on imports into the United States. His tsunami of levies has bludgeoned the stock market and wiped billions of dollars off Americans’ retirement accounts. Before the 47th US president, there was another blond(e) with a distaste for economic orthodoxy setting fire to financial markets. The Parable of Liz Truss should be required reading for Trump. A little over two years ago, the then-British prime minister attempted to push through massive unfunded tax cuts, decimating UK government bonds before she was forced into a humiliating climbdown. The episode ultimately cost Truss her job, earning her the title of Britain’s shortest-serving premier and the rare distinction of having spent fewer days in office than it took a lettuce to decompose. Trump’s job looks secure as US and UK government systems are different. The president and his policymakers have also surprised investors with the level of market pain they are prepared to withstand to implement their radical economic agenda. But their tolerance is not infinite, analysts tell CNN. Ross Mayfield, an investment strategist at Baird, a financial services firm, believes “there’s way too much private wealth tied up in the equity market for there not to be a point” beyond which Trump feels forced to change course on tariffs. “Financial markets are ultimately king,” he said.