Campaign notebook: the view from Washington

Not many smiles down here today

As some of you know, work – specifically, work on our documentary – has obliged us to travel to the US capital. It was quite an ordeal getting here, but I finally did.

In case you’re wondering, when people find out I am Canadian, they apologize. They seem genuinely embarrassed.

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I stayed up as late as I could watching the Asian markets react to Trump’s insane tariffs. Needless to say, his “economic plan“ was not going well.

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At my hotel, I spoke with one gentleman wearing a suit and tie, and staring at the Fox News ticker. He was as pale as a ghost.

I asked him how it was going.

“Everything is down,” he said. “If you are in the market, you are losing.”

I didn’t say anything.

“The S&P is down 14 points,” he said, shaking his head. “14 points.”

He walked away. I wondered if he voted for Trump. He probably did.

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I talked to another guy, a Democrat – improbably – from the Midwest. I asked him if he was exposed in the market.

He shook his head. “When Trump was elected, I got rid of all my investments and put the money into real estate.“ He paused. “I saw this coming.”

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Back home, it’s week three on the campaign trail. You can see in the polls that the vote is settling in. It usually does in week three.

The Liberal vote may be soft, but I don’t see anything that Conservatives are doing to grab some of it.

They keep preaching to the converted at their rallies. Great visuals, but not really a great strategy.

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Anyway. Got to get back to the documentary and interviewing some interesting people. Have a great day.

And to those of you active in the stock market, you have my sympathy.

I prayed for you here.