The Stock Market Was One of Trumpās Favorite Talking Points. Not Lately.
During his first term, President Trump regularly took credit for a booming stock market, citing soaring share prices as a measure of his success in office.
And after his election victory in November, he pointed to the market rise as a sign of optimism.
But since his inauguration in January, Mr. Trump has been relatively muted about stocks, even after the S&P 500 hit a record on Feb. 19.
The S&P 500 has since fallen almost every day, and the index is now lower than it was when Mr. Trump took office on Jan. 20.
Other indexes, including those more closely tied to the ebb and flow of the economy, have also fallen.
On Friday, the S&P 500 surged higher late in the day but remained lower for the week, its second consecutive week of losses for the first time since October. Other bullish reflections of Mr. Trumpās election have also faded, with Bitcoin tumbling roughly 20 percent over the past month.
Since his inauguration last month, President Trump has been relatively muted about the stock market. Investors are getting worried about an impending sell-off.
www.nytimes.com
Trump says a transition period for the economy is likely: āYou canāt really watch the stock marketā
President Donald Trump and other senior White House officials have spent the past several days bracing Americans for a potential economic slowdown that they say will then lead to stronger growth ahead.
With fears brewing over the potential tariff impact, the labor market slowing and indicators pointed toward possible negative growth in the first quarter, the president and his top lieutenants are projecting a mostly optimistic outlook tempered with warnings about near-term churning.
āThere is a period of transition, because what weāre doing is very big,ā Trump said Sunday on the Fox News show āSunday Morning Futures.ā āWeāre bringing wealth back to America. Thatās a big thing. ... It takes a little time, but I think it should be great for us.ā
Asked whether he thinks a recession is imminent, Trump said, āI hate to predict things like that.ā He later added, āLook, weāre going to have disruption, but weāre OK with that.ā
Who are the "we're OK with that" in his dismissal of the unfolding calamity? I suppose the oligarchs he surrounded himself with are. I'm sure he is, if for no other reason than not admitting a mistake.
I guess my question is, if trump ran on, "we are going to intentionally cause a lot of economic pain," and not, "I am going to fix everything on day one (even though he's breaking everything)," would he have won?
I realize the board's minions would vote for him no matter what. How about the undecideds who made the difference in the election? They voted for price reductions, not constant chaos.
