President Trump as 'big a risk' to the economy as jihadi terrorism
LONDON -- A Donald Trump presidency is just as dangerous for the global economy as "jihadi terrorism," according to the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit's April 2016 Global Risk list.
The unit gives a possible Trump presidency a score of 12 on a scale of one to 25. For context, the EIU gives the Chinese economy experiencing a hard landing a score of 20 -- the highest on the list.
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"In the event of a Trump victory, his hostile attitude to free trade, and alienation of Mexico and China in particular, could escalate rapidly into a trade war," according to the accompanying analysis. "His militaristic tendencies towards the Middle East (and ban on all Muslim travel to the US) would be a potent recruitment tool for jihadi groups, increasing their threat both within the region and beyond."
This is the first time that the EIU has included an American presidential candidate on the list of top 10 global risks, according to the New York Times.
The EIU does not "expect" that Trump would defeat likely Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, but the group suggested that there are "risks to this forecast" in the event of a sudden economic downturn or a terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
Even if Trump is unsuccessful, the EIU still says there will be a knock-on effect for the U.S. economy, predicting "internal bickering" that could undermine its policymaking at home and abroad.
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Topics Donald Trump Elections Politics
Blathnaid Healy is the UK Editor at Mashable. She joined the company in October 2014 and is based in the London office. Before Mashable, Blathnaid was Content Manager and COO of WorldIrish, a startup focused on the Irish diaspora. She spent almost five years working at Ireland’s largest media company RTE as a multimedia journalist where she also set up the broadcaster’s first dedicated social media team and project managed output for several high-profile events across web, mobile and social media. Blathnaid has reported from the US, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Romania and, of course, Ireland. And in case you’re wondering, it’s pronounced Blan-id.
