Trump's Encouragement of Stock Investors Draws Scrutiny
President Trump began his Wednesday with some advice for those rattled by his steep tariffs.
'BE COOL,' Mr. Trump told his followers on social media after the markets opened. Just a couple of minutes later he wrote, 'THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!'
Hours after that, Mr. Trump sent the markets soaring when he paused the levies for 90 days. The S&P 500 climbed several percentage points in a matter of minutes and was on its way to its best day since the recovery of the 2008 financial crisis.
Soon after Mr. Trump's pause, Democrats and government ethics experts asked the perhaps obvious question: Did Mr. Trump give the green light to his followers to cash in on a forthcoming rise in stock prices?
'How is this not market manipulation?' Representative Mike Levin, Democrat of California, said on social media, referring to action that is potentially illegal. 'If you're a Trump supporter and you did what he said and you bought, then you did great. On the other hand, if you're a retiree or a senior or somebody in the middle class over the last few days that didn't have the tolerance for risk and you decided to sell, you got screwed.'
The news of Mr. Trump's pause came as Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, was testifying on Capitol Hill. Representative Steven Horsford, Democrat of Nevada, pressed him on Mr. Trump's aim.
'It's not market manipulation,' Mr. Greer said. 'We're trying to reset the global trading system.'
'How have you achieved any of that?' Mr. Horsford asked. 'So if it's not market manipulation, what is it? Who's benefiting? What billionaire just got richer?'
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wall Street Journal
24 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
10-Year Treasury Yield Heads Toward Largest Decline Since April 14
1316 ET — The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note is headed toward its biggest one-day decline since April 14 after a pair of lackluster reports on the U.S. economy. Yields, which fall when bond prices rise, began sliding early in the session after the ADP's National Employment report showed that 37,000 jobs were created in May, the slowest pace of private-sector hiring in two years. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal projected hiring would increase by 110,000 new jobs. Yields extended their decline after an ISM services report, which suggested that activity among service firms fell unexpectedly in May. The survey's index for new orders and inventories both sank into contraction, with respondents reporting difficulty in planning due to uncertain tariff policies. The 10-year yield recently traded near 4.36%, down from 4.46% Tuesday. ( 0841 ET – An ominous sign from the U.S. labor market triggers a rush to Treasury bonds, driving yields sharply lower. ADP says only 37,000 jobs were created by private employers in May, the lowest since March 2023. Economists surveyed by WSJ expected 110,000. ADP revises the April figure to 60,000 from 62,000 and says hiring is losing momentum while pay growth remained at robust levels. The report may reflect businesses reluctance to hire amid tariffs uncertainty. Trump cites the report to call on the Fed to lower rates. Friday, payrolls are expected to slow a little from April. The 10-year is at 4.419% and the two-year at 3.931%. ( @ptrevisani)
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Gold Turns Higher on Increased Uncertainty
Gold prices gain as comments from President Trump instill some new economic worries heading into the summer. Trump posted on his Truth Social account that China's President Xi was "extremely hard to make a deal with," and also demanded Fed Chair Jerome Powell lower interest rates.
The Hill
25 minutes ago
- The Hill
Doug Ford urges Canada's leader to ramp up tariffs on US
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is pressuring Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney to ramp up tariffs against the United States after President Trump doubled tariffs on steel and aluminum earlier this week. 'I highly recommended to the prime minister directly that we slap another 25 percent on top of our tariffs to equal President Trump's tariffs on our steel,' Ford said during his Wednesday appearance on CNN's 'Situation Room.' 'He has to, he has to start looking around the world at China and other locations that are taking Chinese steel and really stop the flow of steel. That's the problem,' Ford told host Wolf Blitzer. 'Canada is not the problem. Again. We purchased 30 billion, with a 'B,' of steel off the US, and that's going to come to an end real quick.' Trump signed the executive order to hike the tariffs on Tuesday. The measure went into effect on Wednesday and would levy steel and aluminum tariffs on almost all imports to the U.S.. The United Kingdom is exempt as it inked a trade deal with Washington last month. Canada has retaliated against the U.S. previously, slapping a 25 percent reciprocal tariff on U.S. aluminum and steel products. Carney, who met with Trump at the White House in early May, did not express readiness to implement Ford's suggestion. 'We will take some time, not much, some time because we are in intensive discussions right now with the Americans on the trading relationship,' Carney said to reporters on Wednesday, according to Politico. 'Those discussions are progressing. I would note that the American action is a global action. It's not one targeted in Canada, so we will take some time, but not more,' the prime minister said. Ontario is open to imposing its own countermeasures, according to Ford. When asked on Wednesday if willing to bring back the electricity surcharge, he told reporters that 'everything's on the table.' Ontario implemented a 25 percent extra charge on the electricity Canada exports to three U.S. states after Trump threatened to double tariffs on steel and aluminum. Ford eventually spoke to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and later suspended the tax impacting Michigan, New York and Minnesota.
