Nobel Memorial Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman went on an epic tweetstorm of dismay as election results came in on Tuesday night and it became more likely that Republican nominee Donald Trump would be the next president of the US.
“I don’t know about other people, but I’m not wailing or turning to drink; I just feel numb,” Krugman tweeted. “You know that life as we know it may soon be changed beyond recognition, but it’s hard to grasp, and right now there doesn’t seem any alternative except to plug along.”
Krugman has long said Trump would be bad for the economy, and he railed against the FBI for renewing its investigation into Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s email server.
The economist accused Jill Stein of spoiling Clinton’s chances in Florida and said with Trump as president there would be no way to reverse the impact of global climate change.
Here is a selection of Krugman’s tweets from election night from earliest to latest:
A terrifying night, and not just because Trump might win. It turns out that there is a deeper rage in white, rural America than I knew 1/
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) November 9, 2016
The voters there know what Trump is; they know what they're voting for, and they're doing it anyway. How does our society hold together? 2/
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) November 9, 2016
Also: the media harping on emails, which was, as Matt Yglesias says, a bullshit issue from the start, may have killed the planet
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) November 9, 2016
Btw, Jill Stein has managed to play Ralph Nader. Without her Florida might have been saved
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) November 9, 2016
I truly thought I knew my country better than it turns out I did. I have warned that we could become a failed state, but didn't realize 1/
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) November 9, 2016
that it wasn't just the radicalism of the GOP, but deep hatred in a large segment of the population. How do we move forward? 2/
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) November 9, 2016
It's really tempting to engage in recriminations over this disaster. I am furious at a lot of people right now. But it doesn't help 1/
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) November 9, 2016
The point now is to figure out what to do in this horrible new world. Maybe, just maybe, there are enough aghast Republicans out there 2/
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) November 9, 2016
to form an effective opposition to the governing nightmare we'll be seeing. I'm not really expecting it. But it's all I have so far 3/
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) November 9, 2016
I don't know about other people, but I'm not wailing or turning to drink; I just feel numb. You know that life as we know it 1/
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) November 9, 2016
may soon be changed beyond recognition, but it's hard to grasp, and right now there doesn't seem any alternative except to plug along 2/
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) November 9, 2016
America, we hardly knew ye. Certainly I misjudged the country. But as I said, recriminations don't help. The road back begins tomorrow 1/
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) November 9, 2016
But right now, I'm just going to bed. 2/
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) November 9, 2016