The interview was over, but the ground beneath global markets was just beginning to crack. President Trump’s appearance on 60 Minutes on November 2 was expected to be a victory lap, but a single, casually delivered clip ignited the most intense financial pivot of the year.

The six words hit the tape like a seismic shockwave: “We can be bigger, better, and stronger working with them (China) rather than knocking them out.”

This is not a policy adjustment; it is the spontaneous combustion of the entire bearish narrative that has held equity markets hostage for the better part of two years. For months, the market has been locked in a tug of war. On one side, we had the undeniable, explosive tailwinds of domestic policy: the promise of extended tax cuts, with the potential for a corporate rate reduction to 15 percent, and aggressive deregulation across the energy and financial sectors. These policies promised an immediate, measurable boost to S&P 500 earnings, almost too potent to ignore.

On the other side stood the relentless, smothering geopolitical risk of an escalating trade war. This was the “Bear Trap.” Tariffs were the only logical headwind preventing the market from realizing its full, tax-cut-fueled potential. Corporate earnings were winning the battle but they were doing so with an anchor tied to their legs.

Now that anchor is gone. If the President is indeed talking about a fundamental reversal, shifting from “knocking them out” to working toward something “bigger, better, and stronger,” it signals the end of tariffs and a collapse of a debilitating industrial conflict.

All that’s left is the bull narrative.

With trade uncertainty vaporized, the spotlight shifts immediately to the remaining, unanimously bullish pillars of the administration’s agenda: tax relief, deregulation, and fixing the global supply chain. The prospect of extending the 2017 tax cuts, coupled with further corporate rate reductions, has emerged as the dominant near-term earnings multiplier. Analysts are now tasked with re-modeling forecasts for 2026, potentially adding several percentage points of growth, fundamentally supporting higher valuations.

Energy, biotech, and financial stocks have enjoyed cautious optimism throughout 2025 due to promised deregulation. Now regulatory rollbacks will shift the landscape from risk management to rapid expansion. This easing acts as a powerful catalyst, freeing companies to innovate, invest, and capitalize on growth opportunities previously constrained by regulation.

Equally crucial is the administration’s focus on repairing global supply chains. While reshoring manufacturing continues, alleviating pressures on Chinese imports promises a significant near-term boost. Retailers, automakers, and consumer electronics firms can expect meaningful cost-of-goods-sold relief, translating into immediate margin expansion even as reshoring efforts continue

Together these pillars—tax relief, deregulation, and supply chain repair—form a formidable foundation for sustained growth. The stage is set for a robust economic outlook in 2026 and beyond. The market has priced in conflict with China; it has not priced in cooperation. President Trump’s declaration that the United States can be better with China does not just promise a policy change; it flips the script entirely and leaves only the most powerful growth drivers. Investors who were shorting the macro trade war now face a scorched-earth reality: there is no narrative left to short.

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