What else could go wrong?

Bill Bonner

Oct 19, 2026

Violent protests in Paris, France. Source: Getty Images

Monday, October 19th, 2026

Bill Bonner, from Ardmore, Ireland

Another fun-filled, wacko week!

Poor Katie, we hardly knew ye. CNBC:

Katie Zacharia out as Trump’s White House press secretary

The poor girl had barely finished stumbling through her first and last press conference when she was shown the door.

Ms. Zacharia had just told us about Kimberly Guilfoyle’s fall from grace...and then, it was just a matter of hours before she joined Ms. Guilfoyle tumbling down with the MAGA outcasts.

The Trumps had tried to get rid of Guilfoyle by sending her to Athens. But even there she made a nuisance of herself. Commentators said that Kimberly had ‘gone too far.’ That seems unlikely, since the Trump Team has thus far shown a remarkable tolerance for incompetence and self-dealing. More likely, Guilfoyle was viewed as an embarrassing and expendable small-time crook — unworthy of the company of people like Witkoff, Kushner and other pros. Women must be either useful or decorative, say the misanthropes. Ms. Guilfoyle had become neither.

We feel more sympathy for Zacharia. Is she a liar? Of course, she is. That is a job requirement. Asked where she had practiced law, she replied ‘um...in China,’ an obvious fib. Her problem was not that she lied, but that she wasn’t able to do it to White House standards.

On her first day on the job, Ms. Zacharia was visibly nervous and painfully aware that she was in over her head. That at least left her with a certain vulnerable charm, which couldn’t be said for many of the rest of the rejects — Kimberly, Pam, Kristi, Tulsi...et al.

While this drama was playing out, came a report on Friday, that the US deficit for the fiscal year hit the $1.99 trillion mark. We’ve been saying for months that the deficit for the year would be $2 trillion. Okay, we were off by 0.5%. We’ll try to do better. Business Line:

US budget deficit rises to nearly $2 trillion in 2026, highest in five years
Record federal outlays and rising debt servicing costs weighed on US finances, while tariff refunds and higher defence spending added pressure .

And then came word that the situation was even worse than we thought. Fortune:

US debt interest payments hit $3 billion a day and jumped 8% in fiscal 2026 — faster than total federal spending, revenue and GDP growth…

At this stage what voters are probably hoping for is reliability and predictability. A steady and sensible hand on the tiller! Alas, those are not Mr. Trump’s best qualities. Perhaps that is why his poll numbers are going where few poll numbers have ever gone before. Daily Beast:

Trump Hits Worst Poll Numbers Ever
No president has posted a higher disapproval rating since George W. Bush left office.

This is shocking...shocking! Not that his numbers are so bad; that is what you’d expect. The shock is that they’re not worse.

And then came this from USA Today:

A new NBC News Decision Desk poll – taken with SurveyMonkey – found that 71% of adults think the country is on the “wrong track,” which marks the highest margin of Trump’s second term.
Trump’s approval rating fell to 34% among U.S. adults, a second-term low in NBC polling, while his disapproval rating sat at 66 percent. Fifty-one percent of respondents said they “strongly disapprove” of Trump’s performance, a second-term high.

Out on the Eastern Front, the war between the Ukraine and Russia has been a flop from almost every point of view. Russia hasn’t won. The Ukraine hasn’t lost. And billions of dollars are spent keeping it going.

The US chose to root for the Ukrainians; Mr. Zelensky was greeted by a joint session of Congress, on its feet, cheering his defense of ‘freedom,’ and declaring that the Ukraine’s borders — established by Stalin and Khrushchev — were sacred and inviolable.

But Mr. Trump is not restrained by matters of principle, even when they are genuine. Last week, he ‘flipped the flop’ and made a deal with Putin...hoping that a few more barrels of diesel fuel will leave him in better shape after the midterm election. CNN:

Trump waives Russia-related sanctions before they even kick in as Ukraine ties worsen

He also seems to have acquiesced to Russia’s request for the US to stop aiding Zelensky with SpaceX Starshield tracking of Russia’s incoming attacks. True or not, we don’t know, but it was reported that more of Putin’s missiles were finding their targets.

But back in the financial news, AI debt got more attention. CNN:

Nasdaq sinks more than 2% as investors raise questions about AI debt

The AI companies have borrowed billions — far more than was required for the canals or railroads or any other technical advance. The money can only be repaid if AI proves not only clever and amusing...but extremely profitable. So far, there are few signs of it. AI can write sonnets, of that we have proof. But can it pay the rent? Probably not.

While stocks sank, oil rose. The Hill:

Oil hits $110 per barrel for first time since May

And finally, September’s inflation numbers came out last week, the last report before the election. Washington Post: