'Dr. Doom' economist Nouriel Roubini says he predicted US protests 'months ago'

• An economist nicknamed "Dr. Doom" for his dire predictions said on Sunday that he anticipated the protests sweeping across America.
• Nouriel Roubini tweeted that the unrest reflected both anger at George Floyd's death and the spike in unemployment caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
• "There are now 40 million unemployed people in the US who are rightly furious: white, brown, black," he said. "As I predicted months ago this crisis will lead to riots & violence."
• Roubini said in March that election interference could lead to "outright violence and civil disorder," and warned less than two weeks ago that the country was "one step away from food riots."
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Nouriel Roubini, an economist dubbed "Dr. Doom" for his pessimistic predictions, tweeted Sunday that he anticipated the violence and unrest now sweeping across more than a dozen US states.

Roubini argued the protests and riots reflect not just anger at police violence and systemic racism, but the surge in unemployment sparked by the coronavirus pandemic as well.

"The demonstrations & even the violence are not just about George Floyd's murder," he tweeted.

"There are now 40 million unemployed people in the US who are rightly furious: white, brown, black. As I predicted months ago this crisis will lead to riots & violence."

In an earlier tweet, Roubini proclaimed that jobless Americans are "mad as hell" and the "USA is now burning!"

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Predicting unrest

Roubini raised the "possibility of outright violence and civil disorder" in a Project Syndicate column in late March. However, he tied that prospect to foreign powers such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea interfering with the US presidential election this fall, spurring accusations of "rigging" and leading voters to protest.

The economist also warned of unrest in an Intelligencer interview published on May 22. He predicted it would flare up due to widespread hunger and financial woes.

"Look at the luxury stores in New York," he said. "They've either boarded them up or emptied their shelves, because they're worried people are going to steal the Chanel bags. The few stores that are open, like my Whole Foods, have security guards both inside and outside."

"We are one step away from food riots," he continued. "There are lines three miles long at food banks. That's what's happening in America."

"You're telling me everything's going to become normal in three months?" he added. "That's lunacy."

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Roubini has been sounding the alarm on the pandemic's massive repercussions for months. For example, when US stocks were trading close to all-time highs in late February, he blasted markets as "completely delusional" and warned coronavirus could "shock the world." Stocks crashed a few days later.

He also anticipated declines in stocks, oil, and other risky assets in early March. A few weeks later, he cautioned that the virus outbreak could plunge the global economy into a "Greater Depression."

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