The curse of Liz Truss brings down the MAGA movement

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Who or what to blame for the Republican Party’s midterms disaster? The cost-of-living crisis, the war in Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump’s preelection strategy of endlessly complimenting people on their buttocks?

The real answer may well be Liz Truss.

If you concentrate very, very hard, you may remember that Truss was the actual prime minister of the actual U.K. in 2022 for about 7 seconds. But despite that short time frame, two major events happened on Truss’ watch.

First, she crashed the U.K. financial markets. That’s the opinion of just about everyone, it seems, except for a certain Elizabeth Truss, whose new book “Bank Job” claims it was the fault of, well, anyone else.

She’s often blamed the “powerful economic establishment” for the abrupt end of her premiership; a run, you may recall, so short she was outlasted by a lettuce (that lettuce, incidentally, got a job as a senior economist at the World Bank).

This week, Truss told Sky News that the U.K.’s economic problems were not because of her mini budget but down to “a spike in the gilt market.” It just so happens, A Spike In The Gilt Market was the name of my teenage progressive rock band (our sole album — “Quantitative Easing” — is, unfortunately, not available on any streaming service).

A zero-star review of the Truss book in sister publication the Telegraph ends thus: “Of all the books I have ever reviewed that purported to offer a serious thesis, this is without question the most deranged. If you are seeking a Christmas present for someone you really don’t like, give them a copy.”

The second major event that occurred during Truss’ tenure was the death of Queen Elizabeth II (my lawyers — Sue M. Hall and Bill Able-Hours — want me to make it very clear that Truss had nothing to do with the queen’s death).

Anyway, it seems the curse of Truss has struck again, as she was at Mar-a-Lago the night before the midterms, brandishing a copy of MEP Dominik Tarczyński’s book “Be Like Poland” alongside the author and a host of others.

On Thursday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni slammed the EU for not speaking with one voice on Ukraine. It’s a risk, but perhaps the bloc should send Truss to Moscow to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin. If the curse strikes, he’d end the war immediately — or invade Finland; it’s hard to tell.

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