“We do have a very good relationship to a certain degree, you know, Donald Trump’s been notorious for being a deal-doer … I think they like New Zealand.”
He said although there were loud voices disproving of Trump, there was no denying people identified with him.
“He is a bit of a brawler, a bit of a fighter … this is a guy who gets shot in the head.
“You can’t fake this stuff, and he gets up and his first reaction is to say ‘Fight, fight, fight.”
In an interview with Stuff a month ago, Key said he thought Trump would win the election and while Trump would not necessarily be good for New Zealand, he would be a better pick for the economy. Key had also described Democrat contender Kamala Harris as “quite left-wing” and “well left of [US President Joe] Biden.”
Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen said the average Kiwi with a KiwiSaver will not need to worry about the market following Trump’s win.
Olsen said investors in New Zealand do not need to be too concerned as the markets will “fluctuate quite a bit”.
Chief executive and principal economist at Infometrics Brad Olsen says the markets will fluctuate for the next few weeks. Photo / Mark Mitchell.
“Really what you are seeing is yes, there’s definitely a strong market reaction, but there probably is still going to be some volatility in the markets as everyone tries to pick not only today but over the next couple of days and up until the 20th of January.”
He said there are still questions about what economic policies Trump will pursue first – exchanges, tariffs or regulations – or if he will go at them all at once.
“[Not knowing] what exactly is going to happen first, I think is the big challenge for everyone looking at the economic ramifications of the change in President.
