Trump win will lead to "great unravelling"

Wednesday 19 October 2016

Britain’s former top man in Washington told a Jersey audience yesterday that a Trump victory in next month’s US presidential election would lead to a period of aggressive protectionism and huge instability.

Sir Christopher Meyer, one of the UK’s best-known and most candid ex-diplomats, spoke at a briefing organised by investment managers Rathbones, offering his educated opinions on the forthcoming battle between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

And although they were delivered with charm and humour, Sir Christopher’s views were unequivocal: a win for Trump, with his “vindictive narcissism and crazy hair” would be a disaster, both for the US and globally.

Discounting predictions of a ‘end of history’ that were voiced at the close of the Cold War, Sir Christopher said that “history is, in fact, alive and well and returning with a vengeance”.

“Arrogance and miscalculation in trying to build nations in the Middle East has led to movements hacking away at rules-based systems, which is leading to an age of great unravelling,” he said.

Trump, with his “aggressive mercantilism”, desire to take on China in a “nasty” trade war, “wild instincts” and lack of any inclination to seek advice, particularly on foreign policy, would “accelerate this unravelling,” said Sir Christopher, who addressed an audience at the Royal Yacht Hotel.

“With Trump, the scope for mistakes and miscalculation is huge,” he said.

Mrs Clinton, on the other hand, was the only candidate who can reverse this instability through predictable policies and her considerable experience as a world stateswoman.

Sir Christopher also shared his views on Brexit, which he said must not be derailed by calls for the entire process to be negotiated under the full glare of public scrutiny.

“There is a difference between policy and diplomacy,” he said. “The former should be discussed openly but the latter must be carried out in private in order to get the best deal for Britain. I wanted to Remain but if Britain gets it right, Brexit could be a force to counter this great unravelling.”