Ibbitson's columns published during the recent U.S. election make for rather amusing reading now, if one is entertained by frequently and spectacularly wrong predictions and biased and alarmist writing.  So, it comes as no great surprise that this columnist now appears to suggest (as far as I can tell) that world poverty could have been significantly reduced in a relatively few years, but may no longer be reduced now, because Trump was elected... It is hard to believe anybody can be this naive... First of all, there is still a lot of poverty in the U.S. and this is one reason why Trump got elected. Secondly, the growing numbers of refugees heading towards Europe and other wealthier parts of the world show that poverty and lack of economic opportunities  in many parts of the world appear to be growing, and this has nothing to do with Trump, and cannot be blamed on him.