Despite waves of volatility, markets have remained essentially flat since President Trump’s second term started — largely because traders have learned that he typically backs down from his most destructive policies after Wall Street forces his hand. But while investors have reacted rationally to Trump’s acute economic threats, particularly his tariffs, by driving rapid market downturns, they are irrationally ignoring the far more devastating long-term assault his administration is waging against America’s research ecosystem.

The result is that markets are severely underpricing the full cost of the economic headwinds that lie ahead.

The Trump administration has terminated billions in funding for the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Trump’s 2026 budget seeks to go even further, calling for a combined $23 billion in cuts to these two research institutions alone. He has also waged war against our most prominent research universities by revoking billions in federal funds. Meanwhile, the “big,........

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