Earlier today, Gruppo Esponenti Italiani (GEI) welcomed Antonio Merlo at its first monthly luncheon and Q&A since the presidential election two weeks ago. The Italian-born Merlo is the Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science at New York University, where he also earned a PhD in economics in 1988. Merlo engaged in a wide-ranging discussion with GEI President Mario Calvo-Platero, offering his expert perspective on what to expect in the American economy under a Trump administration and beyond.
Merlo appeared sanguine overall on the subject of the president-elect’s upcoming second term. He briefly acknowledged the potential pitfalls of some of Trump’s choices for key positions, like RFK Jr. being appointed as Secretary of Health and Human Services, where he could decide that “funding for the NIH or other health organizations could be cut.” That caveat aside, Merlo was hopeful of the possibilities offered by the presence of an “innovator par excellence” like Elon Musk in Trump’s orbit, who could “inject resources into innovation and entrepreneurship.” He was particularly interested in the future of research in artificial intelligence, which he declared “a huge opportunity for humankind,” explaining how it has already revolutionized the field of material chemistry by helping researchers narrow down possibilities and “focus on the few examples that have a very high likelihood of success.”
La Voce asked if he found any cause for concern with Elon Musk’s extralegal ventures into foreign policy over the past couple of years – interfering with Ukrainian attacks on Russian targets and maintaining direct contact with Vladimir Putin, as well as having an unsanctioned meeting with an Iranian diplomat last week to discuss relations with the United States. Merlo conceded that while Musk “is by far the most successful entrepreneurial person of his generation,” his management of X (formerly Twitter) “produced very negative results” and exposed flaws in his character that should not be ignored. However, he stopped short of stating that this had negative implications for his upcoming role in Trump’s administration, stating that “it will be interesting to see” what comes of it.
Merlo offered a measured analysis of the American political landscape. Rather than focusing on swings in support for either of the major political parties over the past decade, he emphasized polls showing that Americans have been steadily losing trust in institutions over that time, regardless of who’s in power. “We cannot just have an economic policy that is completely ignorant and devoid from recognizing that there is a segment of the population that is very unhappy.” This begs the question: will political and economic leadership in this country implement changes that could quell this unrest? “I think it will be an interesting give and take.”
