| This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a notable pledge of Bloomberg Opinion's opinions. Sign up here. Although TikTok astrologers (ugh) are still convinced the election isn't over, President-elect Donald Trump is blazing ahead with his White House picks, starting with the "Ice Maiden," his chief of staff Susie Wiles. Serving under her will be the brains behind the 2017 travel ban, Stephen Miller, who Trump has selected as deputy chief of staff for policy. He'll serve alongside Tom Homan, former head of ICE, who will be the "border czar." New York's Elise Stefanik — the congresswoman best known for pressing university presidents in this viral clip — has been chosen as the ambassador to the United Nations. And, of course, Elon Musk — still on his electoral honeymoon at Mar-a-Lago — is conducting Twitter polls that may or may not determine Mitch McConnell's replacement. It's all copacetic, if hatemongering, election-denying and mass deportation is your cup of tea. Andreas Kluth says it's just the beginning of Trump's new order of global anarchy. As these appointments roll in, it's going to be increasingly difficult to suss out how, exactly, these people are going to try to achieve all of his campaign promises. Take one of Trump's most notable pledges: ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine in a day. What are the odds that actually happens? Slim-to-none, if Andreas' column is any guide. He says the first victim in Trump's new regime "will probably be Ukraine." Stefanik, who voted against sending aid to Zelenskiy earlier this year — siding with far-right members instead of party leadership — further ignites those fears. Trump will "gradually render the charter of the United Nations as meaningless as the League of Nations became in the 1930s," Andreas argues, "jettisoning principles such as the sovereignty and integrity of all countries, large and small." But Marc Champion is slightly more hopeful that Trump can engineer a win in Ukraine, as long as he stops calling up the Kremlin as if it's a pizza delivery service. Instead of drumming up a hasty ceasefire deal with Putin, Trump should send a competent envoy to Ukraine to try and generate "a settlement that provides genuine security," where "Ukraine could serve as a back office for the West, a route for countries to shorten their supply lines in this age of de-globalization, much as Poland, Hungary and countries did on joining the European Union 20 years ago." Mihir Sharma, too, says "the prospect of Trump's return is less disconcerting than one might imagine." Much like a temperamental boss or a volatile little league coach, Trump caused chaos and confusion during his first term. But now world leaders know his quirks and can work around his brouhaha. "From India to Turkey to Indonesia, they are confident they will manage just fine — and perhaps even benefit more from their relationship with the US than they did under President Joe Biden," he writes. Still, not all of our columnists are feeling so hunky-dory: Max Hastings says "Europe is preparing for a new life, almost certainly further distanced from the US than at any time since Pearl Harbor in December 1941." And Martin Ivens says UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will have his hands full doing damage control, given the range of colorful comments his cabinet has hurled at Trump — "buffoon," "Nazi sympathizer" and "tyrant in a toupee" — in the past. As a resident of New York City, I'm pretty accustomed to waking up to the smell of smoke. I've seen apartment buildings get swallowed by flames. Entire churches burn down overnight. But I never expected fumes from a drought-fueled bush fire in Prospect Park to turn my bedroom into a BBQ joint. That just feels like a bad omen: Although we got some much-needed sprinkles last night, we're still in the midst of the driest fall in history. As the planet grows warmer and more chaotic, Mark Gongloff says freak weather events will become more normal and David Fickling says Trump's second term could be "a disaster for efforts to rein in climate change." Just this afternoon, we got word of Trump's EPA pick: Former New York congressman Lee Zeldin, who gets an underwhelming 14% on the League of Conservation Voters' environmental scorecard. China, of all places, might be the world's best hope for survival: "President Xi Jinping could lean into the ways in which his country is taking over the mantle of the world's clean energy superpower," David writes. In contrast, the US will spend the next four years guzzling oil and retreating from ESG, completing a pattern that John Authers says began years ago: "As was obvious even before voters went to the polls, ESG was already a decisive loser in the US," he writes. "The concept of Environmental, Social and Governance investing became hopelessly entangled with the culture war agenda, failed to deliver on its promises, and went into retreat. Rather than attempt a technocratic, clean, green way of changing capitalism, America has opted for something more nationalist, even mercantilist." Better enjoy the park while it lasts. Bonus Energy Reading: Trump's promises to slash spending and end green subsidies may add to the economic headwinds. — Conor Sen  Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg Last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz committed political suicide when he fired his finance chief and called for a snap election. If that weren't dramatic enough, there's major beef between Germany's electoral commission and Big Paper. Basically, the commission boss claimed there's a paper shortage that might make an election impossible. But the paper company bosses are NOT having it: "We have paper," the seemingly exasperated head of the trade association for the German paper industry, Alexander von Reibnitz, told the state broadcaster ZDF, adding: "The German paper industry is very productive … we can deliver as long as the order is submitted in a timely manner."
Of course they brought the receipts! They are paper people! I'm living for this tea, and so are Bloomberg's editors, who say if Scholz's decision to blow up his government "helps break the political impasse holding back Europe's largest economy, it's not a moment too soon." Go off, Scholz! Bonus Germany Reading: The mighty German bund is losing its shine. — Marcus Ashworth In addition to policing the climate, China also has plans to police people throughout the world, and not in some far away Black Mirror future: "Security operations are helping the Communist Party protect its interests abroad, a new report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies shows, while promoting Beijing's image as a responsible security player," Karishma Vaswani writes. For instance, covert Chinese police units were spotted in Canada over the summer, but "when China is asked about these overseas police outposts, it either denies that stations exist, or says that they're service centers providing administrative services for overseas citizens — which isn't entirely untrue."  For a minute there, it looked like Carvana was toast. Yet Chris Bryant says "the online used-car dealer has staged an extraordinary turnaround, rewarding investors who stood by their convictions." How did it do it? The usual trio of turnaround metrics: Cutting costs, slowing down and becoming profitable. "But its eyepopping valuation means it's still an investment only for the brave," he warns. Inflation made this year dreadful for incumbent parties worldwide. — Matthew Yglesias Tesla and Detroit's automakers are pricing in a Trump joyride. Good luck. — Liam Denning The Great UK Cheese Heist adds to British cheddar's global appeal. — Howard Chua-Eoan New York needs a congestion charge to ease traffic for residents. — Liam Denning Latino and Black voters can't let Trump divide them. — Erika D. Smith Democrats lost because wages have barely budged since the 1970s. — Kathryn Anne Edwards The Church of England has a history of abuse. Marijuana might make it out alive. Tesla's salary database is all about stocks. What deportation does to grocery bills. Wicked's unlikely sex scandal. Only children could save America. Sabrina Carpenter's pit has a pee problem. This stripy zebra is underwhelming. Notes: Please send non-pornographic fashion dolls and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. Sign up here and follow us on Threads, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. | 
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