Words Matter
Words matter.
How things are said matters.
These two statements were emphasized in my own upbringing, and I try to emphasize them with my own children. Anyone who says that words or tone don’t matter is, well. . . just wrong.
Most of our current events this year have been centered on the impact of U.S. driven tariffs that have been reshaping the global trade markets. These tariffs and many more changes are usually driven by language from President Trump directly or from his TruthSocial posts.
Current Words in the News
Last week President Trump posted, then followed up verbally, saying that the Department of War should start testing nuclear weapons. For historians, two details stand out from that statement. First, that title, Department of War, hasn’t been used since President Truman, and second, the last United States’ nuclear test was in 1992. Both things are many decades removed from the current era.
Other reports have surfaced to clarify the President’s statement. Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated that there would be no nuclear explosions. President Trump, on several occasions, stated that other nations are doing similar testing. However, the Energy Secretary further explained that these will be “system tests” and “noncritical explosions.”
Why This Matters
Why does any of this matter right now? Specifically, why does it matter for those impacted by the energy sector? During 2025 tariffs have been used for negotiation purposes. One argument is that tariffs are extreme negotiation tactics, but they are negotiation tools, nonetheless. The use of tariffs has helped create the framework for how the market should now interpret the words being utilized for nuclear testing. Those words are also negotiation tactics.
Within this blog and our client writing, we strive to strip out political leanings and focus more on intent and impact. What we have observed over the last nine months has been a pattern of language and tone that is meant to exert pressure for a desired outcome. This is similar to how we are viewing the current statements on nuclear testing. We do not see this as a large geopolitical risk for war but rather a national negotiation to achieve some other goal.
Conclusion
U.S. sanctions on Russian oil giants Lukoil and Rosneft may be more impactful than nuclear testing. These sanctions could reshape the buying habits within the global oil markets and possibly impact prices for U.S. WTI and North Sea Brent oil. These price hubs could have bullish moves based on increased purchases.
As we continue to review markets over the coming weeks and months, our geopolitical risk review will likely not be heavily influenced by nuclear language. It will be impacted by shifts in global oil purchases, and any additional language President Trump uses in order to negotiate with other nations. Words DO matter, and we will keep watching both the words AND tone used in any of these negotiations.
Current Events – November 2025
By JD Buss
