Trump's chaos is reminiscent of Brexit – British woman gives horrified US citizens advice: "We know your pain"

Frankfurter Rundschau Trump's chaos is reminiscent of Brexit – British woman gives horrified US citizens advice: "We know your pain" Amy Walker • 1 hour • 4 minutes read Economy in turmoil American society is currently more divided than ever. While Trump poses a massive threat to the global economy, Democrats are in shock. This reminds the British of Brexit. Washington/London – Do you remember Brexit? It's been almost ten years now since Great Britain held a referendum in which 51 percent of voters voted to leave the European Union. At that time, shock swept through the world, and especially through the EU. Years of disputes over the details of Brexit followed, chaos in British politics, and ultimately, it caused significant damage to the British economy. Trump's trade war is reminiscent of Brexit: "Trump wants to Brexit the US out of the world." From the British perspective, the Americans are now experiencing their Brexit moment. In his second term, US President Donald Trump has instigated a trade war that is intended to economically isolate the US from the rest of the world and will cause economic damage to the country. Former Trump communications director Anthony Scaramucci, in his podcast The Rest is Politics, says of this: "Trump wants to Brexit the US out of the world." The parallels are indeed astonishing. Here are a few examples: Brexit was supported by a small majority of voters; Trump won his second term by a small margin (he won 49.8 percent of the vote). The Brexit election campaign was manipulated by a disinformation campaign from Russia – later, Russia also helped Trump secure his first term. There has been a long-standing dispute over the agreement with the EU, especially between the hardliners who favor a "hard Brexit" with tariffs and those who want a softer agreement with free trade. There are also reportedly disagreements within Trump's team about the toughness of the trade policy that should be pursued. The political chaos following Brexit has led to Britain having had five prime ministers in almost ten years. During his first term, Trump had a rotating cabinet and fired government ministers on several occasions, causing chaos. One of the prime ministers, Liz Truss, caused a crash in the British financial markets with a budget. She was then forced to resign and went down in history as the shortest-serving prime minister ever (49 days). With his tariffs on "Liberation Day," Donald Trump triggered one of the worst days on Wall Street since the coronavirus pandemic. The coming months and years will reveal whether other parallels emerge: Since Brexit, exports from Great Britain have been 15 percent lower than they would have been had the country remained in the EU. Inflation there was higher than in the rest of the EU after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine (2023: 7.3 percent in Great Britain, 5.4 percent in the EU), and economic growth in 2024 was only 1.6 percent, which fell short of expectations of 2 percent. Experts are also predicting bleak results for Trump's trade policy, with warnings of a global recession. However, the consequences are difficult to estimate – after all, no one has ever attempted what Trump is currently doing. This, too, is a parallel to Brexit. British columnist offers advice to US citizens: "We were the punchline of every joke." All of this has now prompted a British columnist to write a letter with advice to US citizens. The letter, published in the Financial Times, is explicitly addressed to those in the US who voted for Kamala Harris and now have to live with the consequences of Trump's policies. "Dear horrified Americans, I'm here to say: We feel your pain. Brits know what you're going through right now and we know how to navigate these humiliations," writes Katie Martin. In her text, she describes some of the parallels she recognizes from the Brexit period and the damage it caused to Britain's reputation around the world. She also recalls moments when she, as a British citizen, traveled abroad and had to listen to jokes from friends about the political situation in the UK: "We were the punchline of every joke." Now, she says, it's the Americans who are the punchline – which prompts her to offer a few tips on how to deal with it. They should prepare themselves for having to answer questions about Trump's trade policy. "If you, dear readers, aren't in the US government or an advisor to it, you'll have a hard time finding a reasonable answer. Just know the question will come." The US is losing importance because of Trump – and a little fun is a must. Americans should also prepare for the possibility that their powerful role in the world could diminish. The British know this all too well. "Brits had to learn the hard way that we're just not that important, and now maybe you have to too." She also warns those who might approve of Trump's actions and share the nasty comments some Republicans make about foreigners on social media: "People outside the US are watching, and yes, they speak English. They can see the fringe politicians and the loudmouthed TV pundits insulting their intelligence, and they don't appreciate it." Finally, Martin points out that amidst all the fun, the world is still on the up – the US is still a superpower. "Europeans in general, and Brits in particular, are hard-wired to laugh at your expense. [...] Try not to take it personally, and maybe spend some of your dollars on a round at the pub before they lose even more value."