After weeks of eerie silence, Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, is once again hogging the airwaves with headlines, platitudes, and warnings. And when Trump speaks, investors listen — especially now that he’s the popular pick to win the White House. This time, AI investors have something to worry about — with the country responsible for America’s AI stock gains in his crosshairs.

• In an expansive interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Trump suggested that Taiwan should pay the US for defense, saying, “Taiwan doesn’t give us anything.”
• This news moved shares of major chipmakers and AI beneficiaries, including TSMCTSM
  , NvidiaNVDA
  , and ASMLASML
  — which fell 8%, 6%, and 13%, respectively, intraday.

Trumpeting threats: A hallmark of Trump’s ideology is that countries take too much from America — and give little back. His reelection could have tectonic impacts on the global economy. In Europe, he has proposed less involvement with NATO, and in Asia, he has suggested aggressive tariffs on countries benefiting from American economic hegemony, aiming to reverse decades of job loss and offshoring. However, experts warn that these pro-American policies could inadvertently create a “disaster,” leading to more conflicts, economic angst, or outright war.