Sock Puppets, Stocks, Commodities and Cryptos General H.R. McMaster, in his 2024 book, At War with Ourselves, predicted that if Mr. Trump were reelected, he would surround himself with loyalists. We got sock puppets, yet America's self-correcting system may prove stronger than ever. Two of Trump's three Supreme Court appointees voted against his tariffs. Who nominated Fed Chairman Powell? The new chairman, Mr. Warsh, will have a 4-year term into the next administration, likely Democratic. In positions of responsibility, most are unlikely to let history judge them as Trump's sock puppet -- Arthur Burns vs. Paul Volker or Aaron Burr vs. Alexander Hamilton. Dependency On a Rising Stocks May Be Greater than Ever - If stocks drop and stay down at some point in the next two years, the party in power is likely toast. President Trump's timing could mirror Herbert Hoover's -- elected in 1928, the last year-end when US stock-market cap-to-GDP stretched near today's 2.4x. A 10% drawdown that stays down would be almost 25% of GDP -- recession. If stocks follow cryptos, which got Trumped, who you gonna blame? Trump's war is crushing people at the grocery store, fuel pump and psychologically. The brash, unpleasant, hedonistic New Yorker stereotype, no longer plays in the heartland. Gold's greatest rush since 1979 in 2025, along with the October crypto peak, may be warnings. Crude oil and gold volatility have rarely surged at such velocity without trickling up to stocks. A rising stock market has become a prerequisite for the metals sector, including gold, and cryptos -- especially Bitcoin -- to not go down. Bitcoin Took Alpha in 2024, Gold in 2025 - US Treasuries 2026? Potential prudent short levels in Bitcoin and silver at the start of the year have been moved to around $75,000 and $85 an ounce, from roughly $94,000 and $100. Bitcoin at about $78,000 on May 2, is above that level -- but what of the first-born crypto if stocks drop? One in 2009 and millions of cryptos now helps explain why the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index (BGCI) dropped 19% in 2025, is down another 19% in 2026 and flat vs. the S&P 500 since 2017 -- despite trading with almost 4x the volatility. ETFs and Trump's election marked peak crypto glory days. Metals are in a bull market that may have peaked. It may take a rising stock market tide to keep cooper above $6 and the US Treasury long bond above 5%. Cryptos are in a bear market. A low-price cure may entail flushing stuff history will likely judge as dumb -- millions of tokens tracking nothing of substance yet worth Billions. Launched as a joke, Dogecoin's market-cap is roughly $17 billion -- the war in Iran has cost about $25 billion so far. The BGCI has dropped about 50% to roughly 2,000 from 4,000. I expect another 50% decline -- to about 1,000 -- may be a worthy low-price cure. Similar in Bitcoin toward $10,000. Full report on Bloomberg here: https://blinks.bloomberg.com/news/stories/teaxedkip3ip {BI COMD}(Mike McGlone)