President Donald Trump Tests Positive For Covid-19: Implications For the Global Economy

_{IMAGE CREDIT: Reuters.com}

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In the early hours of today, President Donald Trump tweeted that he and his wife, Melania Trump, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and will begin quarantine and recovery process immediately. This is coming after months of a pandemic that has claimed approximately 1 million lives globally, 20% of that figure being from the United States.

Given that President Trump is a septuagenarian and obese and, by implication, falls into the category of persons who could have serious complications from being infected with the novel coronavirus, there are genuine reasons to be worried about the health of the president.

Since Trump is one of the few presidents around the world who, even at the height of the pandemic, has always called for a reopening of the economy, it will not be out of place to say that it will be a great setback for the US economy and, by extension, the global economy if Trump develops complications from his new Covid-19 status.

Trump's health status might also have some significant effect, in form of delay, on the release of the second stimulus package to residents of the United States. If that happens, small and medium scale businesses will be significantly affected, alongside residents who will have lesser money to spend. Even the crypto market will not be spared because many are already projecting that the stimulus package will bring new money into the crypto market, with the potential of price surges.

On top of that, investors are very likely to pull out their monies from the stock market, crashing prices like we have already witnessed in the early hours of today. Who wants to leave his money in an uncertain economy?

Also, if Trump develops complications from the novel coronavirus, we can expect instability in the American political system, a thing that will have negative consequences on the American economy. As far as the United States remains the largest economy in the world, it will not be an exaggeration that the global economy will be affected, too, negatively.

On a final note, let us be hopeful that just as Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, survived Covid-19 President Donald Trump will also survive it.