Foreign governments and financial markets now follow President Donald Trump's incessant statements and social media posts as one would follow a play-by-play account of a sports event, said associate fellow Alessandro Merli in an interview with the podcast "Doppelpunkt" of the Bolzano-based news site Salto. Trump's words often cause as much instability in the relationship of other countries with the US and in the markets as his actions, if not more. In the podcast, Merli also maintains that Europe should be more proactive in trade and finance to confront Trump's approach.