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Russia's economy chief explores the Trump phenomenon, sees re-election in 2020

America’s "shattered stability" is visible in its economic performance, the minister believes
US President Donald Trump AP Photo/Evan Vucci
US President Donald Trump
© AP Photo/Evan Vucci

MOSCOW, March 4. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump will be re-elected for a second term and then he will be replaced by a left-wing Democrat, Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin told students during a meeting at Kommersant’s Academy of Journalism on Monday.

"The likely political scenario in America is that Trump will be re-elected for a second term and later he will be replaced by a Democrat, who will be an extreme leftist. I see this as the most probable scenario. Otherwise, a left-wing Democrat could emerge now if America comes up against an economic crisis earlier than by the next election," he noted.

According to the Russian minister, the Trump phenomenon is not a coincidence, but is a direct aftermath of what is happening in the world.

Over the past 30 years, real wages of the middle class and the lower middle class have not budged, and spending on healthcare and education, net of inflation, has tripled. This means that America is "not a society of equal opportunities anymore," the minister stressed.

"America’s shattered stability is visible in its economic performance. The rate of labor productivity over the past 10-15 years has substantially slowed down because the quality of human resources, and social mobility has actually worsened. America has splintered into several various parts: New York, California, maybe Texas and several other major areas. And then there is the rest of America, which turned out to be flyover country cast aside by that strata of society," he stressed.

According to the minister, globalization generated new earnings for the US, but they were concentrated in the hands of just 20 companies and 1 million people working there. "It’s clear that that part of the population, who lost out in this process, is dissatisfied. They are told now that China and Mexico, which snapped up their jobs, are entirely to blame for this. However, Trump is addressing those problems, which truly concern the majority of citizens. That’s why even though he lost New York and California, the majority of voters cast their ballots for him," Oreshkin pointed out.