The DSR Network FTA: Economic Lessons and Implications of Trump’s Victory
Nov 8, 2025
Felicia Wong, President and CEO of the Roosevelt Institute, joins David Rothkopf to dive into the economic terrain following Trump’s return. She compares Trump's influence with FDR's, highlighting their contrasting electoral mandates. Wong argues that neoliberalism is waning and discusses inflation, attributing its rise to supply shocks rather than pandemic spending. The conversation turns to the need for progressives to build cultural strategies and leverage new media for outreach, emphasizing the importance of understanding audience over mere messaging.
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Trump Lacks FDR-Style Cohesion
- Trump is a defining figure of recent US politics but lacks FDR's coherent agenda and sweeping mandate.
- That absence of a cohesive platform limits his ability to shape long-term policy dominance.
Neoliberalism Is Near Its End
- We are at the end of neoliberalism as an intellectual and moral guiding light for the U.S. economy.
- The question now is what paradigm replaces it and whether a pro-worker, pro-equity model will take hold.
Inflation Was Largely Supply-Driven
- Pandemic-era fiscal stimulus did not significantly drive inflation; supply shocks and consumption shifts did.
- Accepting that analysis matters, but political messaging failed to focus on everyday cost-of-living issues.