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POLITICS

FITSNews Political Stock Index – 1/20/2025

Where should you invest your political capital this week?

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Exactly four years ago today, Donald Trump’s political prospects were far from a sure thing. If anything, they seemed unsalvageable. The outgoing president was viewed as a sore loser at best – an insurrectionist at worst.

Trump’s favorability ratings in January 2021 dipped as low as 38.5%, per FiveThirtyEight, whereas his unfavorables that month climbed as high as 57.2%. That’s a hole you don’t climb out of… and yet the 45th (and as of today, 47th) president has done just that.

In his final week before taking the oath of office for a second time, the prevailing political winds continued to fill Trump’s sails. He talked with China’s Xi Jinping, booked a get-together with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and — in his biggest coup of all — announced a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas War.

Not a bad run-up to the start of a new administration…

Trump has his work cut out for him, though. The U.S. economy is limping along, and the ticking from the federal debt bomb has grown so loud it’s deafening. The deep state is not only rooting for him to fail, but conspiring to ensure it happens.

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The time for lofty campaign rhetoric is long past. The time to roll up his sleeves and deliver on it has arrived. Can Trump make good on his promise to ‘Make America Great Again?’ Again?

We’re about to find out.  

Each Monday, we publish the FITSNews Political Stock Index – which is focused on the national political scene. Each Tuesday, we publish the ‘Palmetto Political Stock Index’ – which focuses on politicos from our home state of South Carolina, host of the quadrennial “First in the Nation” (for Democrats) and “First in the South” (for Republicans) presidential primaries.

Got a hot “stock tip” for these indices? Email Will (here) and/or Mark (here).

Where should you invest your national political capital this week? To the index…

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JOE BIDEN

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STOCK: TRADING SUSPENDED

To hear South Carolina congressman Jim Clyburn tell it, Joe Biden “will go down in history as one of the best and most consequential presidents we’ve ever had.”

And why shouldn’t Clyburn feel that way? After gaming the system to make sure Biden was the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, the 46th president has repaid him with servile loyalty ever since. Little wonder then that Biden’s swan song as POTUS included a visit to Charleston’s Royal Missionary Baptist Church on Sunday. 

Many other Americans have a different take on the outgoing chief executive. A wildly different take, in fact.

They see a president who used his valedictory speech from the Oval Office last Wednesday night to take a swipe at his successor. After regurgitating the same tired cabbage about “our democracy” being in danger, he went on to say no president should be “immune from crimes.” This from the same guy whose blanket pardon of his son Hunter was as breathtakingly audacious in its scope as it was nakedly self-serving – just like his last-minute pardons of deep state henchmen Anthony Fauci, Mark Milley, Liz Cheney and Adam Schiff, among others.

They see a president who, as a parting gift, dished medals out of a shoebox to the likes of far-Left billionaire George Soros and Hillary Clinton, and whose aborted reelection bid was bankrolled by those with ten-digit net worth, only for him to scold them with, “for God’s sake, pay your fair share.” Carefully omitted from the speech? Biden’s unleashing of a massively expanded IRS to go after middle-class Americans.

They see a president whose 37.1% approval rating is in the toilet (despite dubious skewering from some pollsters who somehow magically gifted him an “exit bump”) – a president who left the economy in shambles and America’s standing in the eyes of the world badly battered.

They see a president who, after repeatedly claiming in 2020 to be a “uniter” who would bring Americans together, went on to become the most overtly partisan chief executive in the last century. Remember how, in his televised address on July 14, 2024 after the failed assassination attempt on Trump, he urged everyone to tone down the overheated rhetoric? That lasted about an hour and a half; Biden was soon savaging Republicans with his business-as-usual bashing of anyone who dared disagree with him.

Biden heads back to Delaware fully convinced Clyburn was right, and history will vindicate him as one of the greatest presidents. For as the old saying reminds us, “what a fool believes, he sees.”

Mercifully, trading in Joe Biden’s stock is now permanently suspended.     

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TRUMP CABINET PICKS

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STOCK: RISING

The opening round of confirmation hearings for Trump appointees went swimmingly last week – despite each of them having to paddle upstream in a river of bile spewed by several Democratic senators.

The undisputed queen of venom was Hawaii’s Mazie Hirono, who obviously reveled in her nastiness, behaving with the decorum of a prosecutor in a Stalinist Show Trial as opposed to a member of the world’s greatest deliberative body. Consider this exchange with defense secretary-designate Pete Hegseth, whom she didn’t allow to speak.

HIRONO: “As secretary, you will be in charge of maintaining good order and discipline by enforcing the Uniform Code of Military Justice. … I have read multiple reports of your regularly being drunk at work, including by people who worked with you at Fox News. Do you know that being drunk at work is prohibited under the UCMJ?”

HEGSETH: “Senator…

HIRONO: “Yes or no.”

HEGSETH: “…those are multiple false, anonymous reports peddled by NBC News…”

HIRONO: “Do you know that drinking on the job is …”

HEGSETH: “…that run directly contradictory to the dozens of men and women and Fox News channel.”

HIRONO: “I’m not hearing an answer to my question.”

There were hours of more in the same vein, but you get the idea. Despite a barrage of relentless badgering, Trump’s nominees kept their cool.

Hearings were also held on the nominations of Pam Bondi for attorney general, Scott Bessent for Treasury secretary, Doug Burgum for interior secretary, Lee Zeldin for EPA chief and Eric Scott Turner for HUD secretary.  All received the same level of sandpaper snideness from Democrats – but all held their own and smartly pushed back when the situation required.

It’s clear that, unlike his first term, this time around Trump has chosen a group of men and women who aren’t afraid to fight. If last week’s opening round of hearings are any indication, that’s a skill they’re going to need…

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THE SWAMP

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STOCK: FALLING

There’s not much good to be said these days about The Washington Post, which morphed into a progressive propaganda outlet during the recent election, but the fish-wrapper perfectly summed up the conundrum facing capital elites with this headline: “As Trump returns, a weary D.C. braces for a president it didn’t want.”

That’s accurate… but also an understatement.

The Swamp spent four years operating in overdrive on a frantic mission to keep Donald Trump from returning to the White House. It beat the January 6, 2021, drum (which the Left inaccurately decreed to be an “insurrection”) and harped about it non-stop until Americans screamed, “Enough!”— and then went right on harping. 

The Swamp demonized conservatives in general – and MAGA supporters in particular – as “fascists” and “threats to democracy.” It swelled the ranks of IRS agents to shake down every last nickel it could from everyday Americans under the guise of “making the rich pay their share.” It mobilized the federal government to go after anyone who stood up to it and weaponized the justice system to carry out its intimidation.

The Swamp rallied every moderate masquerading as a Republican it could find (spurred on by cheerleader-in-chief Liz Cheney). It demonized the GOP and terrified the Democratic base with nightmare scenarios of Brown-shirted thugs running wild on the Potomac. It shook down the Hollywood Glitterati and Tech Billionaires alike to bankroll the costliest election in history.

And the Swamp lost. Bigly

The Left’s radical agenda went up in smoke when Kamala Harris went down in flames. We’re now witnessing major businesses recoiling from the very DEI programs the Swamp spent four years advocating. Its cherished climate change initiatives, including a Green New Deal 2.0, are on ice for the foreseeable future. And the Swamp’s fondest dream of all — citizenship for the millions of aliens now in the U.S. illegally — is out the window.

In its place? Mass deportations…

In short, the Swamp finds itself now playing defense for the first time in a long time – and its denizens are quickly discovering that’s not to their liking.

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VIVEK RAMASWAMY

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STOCK: RISING

The political world is buzzing about a big change in plans for one of Trump World’s top supporting cast members. Vivek Ramaswamy, the brash billionaire biotech whiz, is reportedly mulling a run to replace Ohio’s term-limited governor Mike DeWine.  

Columbus’ gain would be the District of Columbia’s loss…. as Ramaswamy was poised to make major inroads in our nation’s capital.

Ramaswamy, 39, made a name for himself during the 2024 GOP presidential primary as one of the rising stars of the MAGA movement. A rapid-fire dispenser of well-reasoned, eloquently articulated core conservative truths, Ramaswamy was also fearless in defining the debate during the primaries – saying things many on the Right were thinking but rarely vocalized.

It’s one thing to fling generous portions of red meat to the masses, it’s something else entirely to consistently serve up filet mignon.

The Ohio native was also Trump’s stalking horse in the race, adeptly needling South Carolina’s Nikki Haley throughout the primary campaign.

Ramaswamy’s name has been in the news of late as half of the DOGE duo – alongside fellow billionaire Elon Musk. Trump has tasked them with devising ways to make the federal government leaner and more efficient.

DOGE is scheduled to wrap up its work by July 4, 2026… four months before Ohio’s next gubernatorial election. Ramaswamy reportedly had been interested in filling the Senate seat opening created when JD Vance moved up to the vice presidency. But DeWine’s appointment of lieutenant governor Jon Husted closed the door on that.

Needless to say, we expect him to be a fixture on this index moving forward just as he was during the recently concluded election cycle…

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GERIATRIC OLIGARCHY

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STOCK: FALLING

Move over, Miami Beach. Washington, D.C. has become America’s new hot spot for the geriatric crowd – although it’s fallen on hard times of late.

From Joe Biden turning the White House into the nation’s premier five-star retirement home to House speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi pulling the strings in that chamber, to Mitch McConnell calling the shots on the other end of Capitol Hill, D.C. was run by a trio of eighty-somethings.

Then, father time struck all three with a vengeance…

It started in the summer of 2023, when former leader McConnell froze in mid-sentence during a news conference and stared blankly into space during an awkward 20-second silence. That cringeworthy reminder that he was well past his prime led McConnell to eventually hand over the reins of Senate control to John Thune.

Biden had a feasible shot at reelection — until he shuffled to the podium in an Atlanta TV studio last June and displayed to all the world what his staff had diligently labored for three years to conceal: he was slowly losing his marbles.

And let’s not forget Pelosi, who turns 85 in March. She was the puppet master pulling the strings behind last summer’s departure of Joe Biden from the Democratic presidential ticket and replacing him with Kamala Harris. After she went down with the Titanic in November (taking Democratic hopes of reclaiming the House and Senate along with her), Pelosi received a fresh reminder that time is not on her side. A nasty spill down a flight of stairs while wearing high heels in Belgium resulted in hip replacement surgery. Her physical limitations reflected her diminished political prowess.

Washington has always had its share of senior statesmen and women – and it always will. Yet the wheel of time eventually brings younger replacements. As John F. Kennedy memorably put in his 1961 Inaugural Address, “the torch is passed to a new generation.”

D.C. geriatrics are grudgingly handing it over these days…

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6 comments

Nanker Phelge January 20, 2025 at 12:15 pm

All hail the Convict In Chief’s coronation! Buy your Trump meme crypto now!

Reply
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The Colonel Top fan January 20, 2025 at 1:43 pm

Biden has permanently damaged his legacy by un-ironically pardoning his family members to protect them from “political prosecutions”

Reply
Frank January 20, 2025 at 3:45 pm

It doesn’t damage his legacy with me. I think that is exactly what he should have done. Trump will go after all the people on his enemies list in any way he can. If he can’t get them he will go after their families. They need as much protection from him as possible. He is an angry vindictive man with violent supporters.

Biden’s legacy for me:
1. Economic Recovery following a badly handled pandemic.
2. Lowest unemployment in decades
3. NATO Stronger than at any time since WWII.
4. The Army of our enemy the Russians, devastated.
5. The economy of our enemy the Russians, is near collapse.
6. The Chinese economy is weakened and internal political dissent is rising.
7. America was respected and trusted by our allies, until today.
8. Massive job creation.
9. Highest stock market in history.

Trump’s inauguration made one thing very clear. This is the age of the megarich. There were at least five tech billionaires at the inauguration today all given VIP spots and all giving money to Trump. Including the owner of TikTok, who just four years ago Trump said was a threat to the nation. All it took was a couple of hundred million from him and Trump is on board with TikTok continuing to spy on Americans. These are the people who will be running our country for the next four years. Government of the rich, by the rich for the rich. And, the Russians are thrilled to have their old friend back in power.

So Good luck to us all. Here’s to hoping that 4 years from now we can even say things like this without jackboots kicking down our door or being targeted by the tech giants.

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The Colonel Top fan January 20, 2025 at 9:49 pm

Your ilk made the same “jackboots” claim last time too… Didn’t happen.
Only party to weaponize DoJ or IRS? Dems under Sleepy Joe and Barrack.
Your #3 must be a joke as are 4 and 5.

Reply
Frank January 21, 2025 at 1:59 pm

In February of 2022, Russia began an invasion of Ukraine. The plan was to capture the Capitol, arrest and/or execute the nation’s leadership, and install a Russian-controlled puppet government within a week. Three years and half a million dead Russian soldiers later, Russia has failed to take the capitol or any major city they did not control before the invasion, and Ukraine controls a chunk of Russia.

They have lost most of their tanks and exhausted most of their missile supply. They have been forced to turn to Iran and North Korea for arms and men and now we have 10,000 dead North Koreans. Their Black Sea Fleet has been sunk. Ukraine has destroyed numerous Russian bases, killed numerous generals, and destroyed a significant fraction of Russia’s air defenses. Russia lacks the money or the skills to repair or replace the lost military equipment in the short run and may not have the manpower in the long run, as most men between the ages of 20 and 40 will have either been killed or fled the country. The Russian army is so devastated that if they tried to fight a conventional war with NATO, NATO forces would be in Moscow within a week. Hell, the Russian Army would not have stopped a rag-tag bunch of mercenaries from reaching Moscow if they had not stopped voluntarily.

On top of that Ukraine has destroyed a significant portion of Russia’s oil refining capability and Russian oil exports are a small fraction of what they were four years ago. The Ruble is in free fall, inflation is in double digits and interest rates are at 18%.

In addition, the Russians have been driven from their bases in Syria and forced to relocate their ships based there to Lybya, because they were too broken down to sail to a Baltic Sea Port.

NATO has expanded to include Sweden and Finland, both countries are wealthy and have a well-trained and well-armed military. All of NATO was united in the effort to stop Russian aggression, and I believe the European Members and Canada still are. If Trump had not been elected, I believe Putin’s government would have fallen within the year.

I stick by my statement the Russian military has been devastated. They are a shell of what we thought they were four years ago.

I don’t understand why people on the right have to call anyone who does not agree with them “ilk”. But I guess that is the Trump in them. Insult and denigrate anyone who dares to point out anything you don’t agree with, even if it is obvious.

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Anonymous January 20, 2025 at 2:14 pm

F JB x2

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