Allison Schrager, Columnist

Is This Really How American Exceptionalism Ends?

We should hope that what has long made the US economy the envy of the world can withstand whatever damage one president can do in a few months.

March 31, 2025 at 9:30 AM UTC

By Allison Schrager

Allison Schrager is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering economics. A senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, she is author of “An Economist Walks Into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk.”

Nothing lasts forever.
Photographer: YASIN AKGUL/AFP

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The American economy really is exceptional. It is richer, more innovative, and continues to expand at a high rate compared to most of the developed world. It has been extra special the last 15 years, with its equity market outperforming any other country as growth prospects for China and Europe dimmed.

But it seems exceptionalism might be ephemeral. Uncertaintyaround trade and the future strength of the dollar has led some big European investors to retreat from American stocks. And the problem may go deeper. Less than 100 days into a second Trump administration, commentators are already discussing the coming end of American exceptionalism.