Opinion Today: Trump is bringing back the roaring twenties
And what it might signal about our economic future.
Opinion Today
November 7, 2025
Author Headshot

By Suein Hwang

Business, Economics and Technology Editor, Opinion

There is no small irony that President Trump set his lavish Halloween party to the theme of “The Great Gatsby,” the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic that so memorably captured American culture in an overheated economy — moments before disaster.

One hundred years since that novel’s publication, it seems the Roaring Twenties are back. Our stock market is once again reaching nosebleed highs. Speculation is again surging, with staggering sums of money being poured into highflying technology stocks and risky investment schemes.

But rather than heed the lessons of what came next — a devastating stock market crash and the Great Depression — the Trump administration is embracing policies that “keep the punch flowing,” observes William A. Birdthistle in a new guest essay.

“The revelatory moment says so much about where we stand today,” he writes, “and what we could be lurching into next.”

Read the guest essay:

Here’s what we’re focusing on today:

Editors’ Picks

A collage of Zohran Mamdani, Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill smiling in victory.

Guest Essay

‘The Jitterbug Seems Justified!’: 3 Writers on Democratic Elation and G.O.P. Alarm

What both parties should take away from a night of Democratic victories.

By Frank Bruni, Kristen Soltis Anderson and Nate Silver

More From Opinion

A black-and-white photo shows Nancy Pelosi, wearing a white dress, walking in front of an audience.

Michelle Goldberg

More Democrats Need to Follow Pelosi’s Example and Retire

She has shown herself more willing than most to put aside her own ego for the greater good.

By Michelle Goldberg

A photo of Andrew Cuomo coming onto a stage from behind a curtain.

Guest Essay

It’s Not Just Cuomo Who Lost. It’s Cuomoism.

He’s sharp-elbowed, retributive and transactional, and won’t be missed.

By Elizabeth Spiers

The Ezra Klein Show

The Blue Wave Cometh?

Ezra Klein and Aaron Retica discuss whether affordability is the Democrats’ winning message, Trump’s politics of cruelty and how liberalism can win right now.

play button

58 MIN LISTEN

Images of performers on top of a portrait of a smiling Barack Obama.

Guest Essay

The New Obama Musical Made Me Feel Old

It’s no ‘Hamilton,’ but it’s history.

By David Litt

The shadows of President Trump and  President Vladimir Putin of Russia behind a facade with logos that read “pursuing peace.”

David Brooks

The Season of the Wolves

Inside the minds of authoritarians.

By David Brooks

An illustration of a masked man with the knockout image of a rifle across two maps.

Guest Essay

Why Would Hamas Disarm?

For a movement that built its legitimacy around what it called resistance, giving up its weapons is not just a tactical concession, it is an existential unraveling.

By Akram Attaallah

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stands in front of the Cannon House Office Building with the U.S. Capitol Dome appearing in the background.

Guest Essay

Nancy Pelosi Is an American Political Giant

She’ll rightly be lionized as the first woman speaker, but in one sense, that was the most incidental of her myriad accomplishments.

By John A. Lawrence

A plain cardboard box with a shiny, golden-hued gramophone horn emerging from it.

john mcwhorter

The Dusty Boxes of Aging Papers That Changed American Music and My Life

Some of the best music I’ve ever heard was almost lost forever.

By John McWhorter

An illustration of a black circle eclipsing the Earth.

Illustration by Alvaro Dominguez/The New York Times

letters

Challenges and Cheers for Bill Gates on Climate Change

Readers respond to news and opinion articles about Bill Gates’s public memo on climate change. Also: Interfaith connections; the myth of originalism.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times.

Games Here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle and Spelling Bee. If you’re in the mood to play more, find all our games here.

Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com.

If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our Help Page or contact The Times.

If you received this newsletter from someone else, subscribe here.

Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance.

You received this email because you signed up for the Opinion Today newsletter from The New York Times.

To stop receiving Opinion Today, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings.

Subscribe to The Times

Connect with us on:

facebookxinstagram