Donald Trump’s American firing continues as 23 Nobel Prize-winning economists explain why Kamala Harris is ‘vastly superior’

In a surprise twist, the economic plans of a man who declared bankruptcy are being slammed by the world’s leading economists, with Donald Trump finding a new foe in a group of Nobel Prize-winners.

That’s right, the Republican presidential candidate has been called out in a letter signed by 23 U.S. recipients of the Nobel Prize for economics. The letter takes square aim at Trump’s economic agenda and describes his plans for the economy as “counterproductive,” which is economic-speak for “trash,” I assume. 

The letter comes less than two weeks out from Election Day, and describes the economic plans of the former president’s opponent, Kamala Harris, as “vastly superior” to those laid out by Trump. 

The 23 signatories to the letter said that despite holding “different views on the particulars of various economic policies,” they believe that, overall, the Democratic candidate’s agenda “will improve our nation’s health, investment, sustainability, resilience, [and] employment opportunities.” 

According to CNN, Harris receiving the stamp of approval from the Nobel Prize-winners is a particularly important win for her campaign, since the economy is considered a key election issue among swathes of voters. It marks the second time the awarded economists have weighed in on the presidential race, with Nobel Prize-winner Joseph Stiglitz penning a similar letter about the state of each candidate’s economic plans in June. 

In that letter, only 15 Nobel Prize-winners were named as signatories, but it again laid out the “destabilizing effect” that a Trump presidency would have on the economy. At the time, Trump dismissed the group’s letter, and members of his campaign claimed it was written by “worthless out of touch” economists. Out of touch, like a billionaire, perhaps?

Beyond the criticism of the specifics of Trump’s economic plans — like his “inflammatory” tariff proposals — the letter speaks more broadly of the influence Trump himself would have on the economy. “Among the most important determinants of economic success are the rule of law and economic and political certainty, and Trump threatens all of these,” the economists wrote. 

In layman’s terms, that is a searing read worthy of a place on The Real Housewives. Among other economic woes induced by a Trump presidency, the letter says his plans will lead to “higher prices,” which will affect him directly whenever he takes his next trip to McDonald’s. 

Then again, he has spent hundreds at the fast food chain before, so maybe he’s not all that worried about the dent to his wallet. In any case, this kind of economic criticism is perhaps to be expected, since Trump went on the defence when questioned about his agenda last week, and before that, turned a question about the rental crisis into a bizarre tangent that mentioned bacon and China. 

Perhaps Trump should just take notes from fellow billionaire Mark Cuban, who stands firmly behind the Harris agenda and said her tax plan is “more profitable” than Trump’s. Or perhaps we should just accept that there are more important things on Trump’s mind than the economy, like the state of Fox News, the need to have a dance party during a Town Hall, or the size of Arnold Palmer’s penis.