President Donald Trump spent the last three months torn in Washington like a battering RAM, but one thing that stopped him was not China, NATO, or Congress. This is the S&P 500.
Since returning to the White House, he has been bulldozed federal agencies, taking more power, urinating on allies, and trading deals. But none of those who returned him – up to the stock market tank.
Whenever the market was bleeding, Trump pulled the brakes. Earlier this month, he rolled a bunch of tariffs, then slapped them on a 90-day pause day later when US stocks sank and investors began to panick.
Earlier this week, after pushing tariffs on Chinese goods up to 145%, he suddenly lowered rhetoric. And after throwing the idea of federal reserve chair Jerome Powell, he walked it back once the markets were again.
Trump reacted quickly when stocks dive
According to Report From The Wall Street JournalThese reversions are not part of some smart chess techniques. Trump changed the course after showing hopes in his team's Fallout market – Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commercial Secretary Howard Lutnick said to remain aggressive would worsen things.
And he was really kind of a confession, saying he was holding the tariffs because “people get a bit of anxiety” after watching the bond market melting.
The White House said all this was part of a plan to force other countries to trade deals. Kush Desai, a spokesman, said, “President Trump's only interesting interest guide is the best interests of Americans.”
But behind the closed doors, Trump is said to hear a loud warning from business leaders. On Monday, he met executives from Target, Walmart, and Home Depot, who said the tariffs were rubbing supply chains and spike prices.
Former Trump counselor David Urban, said the President was attached to the markets. He watches TV Nonstop and monitors each chart. “He looks at the markets as a barometer of how things happen,” David said. “In his view, it is an important barometer of people's opinions in life and in the financial world.”
But his approach didn't line up. He wants stock prices but also wants to punish trading partners and restore factories. David explained the contradiction: “There is this natural tension in the President's love for the markets and his frustration for the American worker played. That's the intensity we see playing today.”
Markets hit hard as Trump blames others
Since Trump's office again, the S&P 500 dropped 10%, the worst start to any presidency in the nearly a century. He blamed it from former President Joe Biden, saying he inherited a “sick” market. In his campaign, he warned that the election of Kamala Harris would cause a “Kamala crash” and a whole sadness.
Even with the collapse of the markets, Trump continues to fired messages that everything is going well. After the tariff announcement brought the biggest sale-off over the years, he posted, “I think it's so good-the markets are going to the boom. It's a great time to get rich.” Then, when he flipped the course, he posted, “It's a good time to buy !!” The markets jumped after the pause, and Trump was proud that Charles Schwab, who ate lunch at the White House, made $ 2.5 billion on rebound.
Oh, but Trump's team is not done. In a TV interview, Scott did not determine the removal of Chinese companies from US stock exchanges. The president himself is still talking about his former market win. In an interview in 2017 at ABC News, he said, “I'm proud of that. Now we have to climb, up, up,” after Dow Jones hit 20,000.
Trump claimed that the market grew 88% in its first term. It was actually closer to 67%, defeating Biden's 56%. But Barack Obama's first term was released both, as the economy collapsed from the financial crisis in 2008.
After Trump won the 2024 election, Dow advanced to the biggest sunny benefit for two years. But the gains? It's gone! Completely eliminated.
