The social media post landed at 9:37 a.m. in New York.
“This is a great time to buy,” President Donald Trump said.
Stocks had opened lower after a four-day rout wiped more than $6 trillion from equity values, leaving the S&P 500 on the brink of a bear market. Hours earlier, the harshest tariffs on US trading partners in more than a century had taken effect.
The selling was virtually down to one reason: Trump’s global trade war. And as such, Trump was uniquely situated to do something about it.
Of course, the president and his advisers had spent the past week insisting that there was no way to escape the levies. “My policies will never change,” Trump posted last week.
If they did, though, that would be worth a lot. Going by the rally Monday after a false rumor of a tariff pause, the riches would top $2 trillion in stock gains.
As the S&P 500 cratered Monday and Tuesday, Trump reiterated that he wasn’t watching the market, that the economy need to “take medicine” in order to grow stronger. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted Wall Street was not the focus. It was Main Street’s turn, he said.
And then came Trump’s post this morning.
U-Turn
Three and a half hours later, Monday’s rumor became Wednesday’s news. Trump was pausing the harshest tariffs on most countries, though crucially not China. Stocks soared in a matter of minutes. The S&P 500 rose more than 7%, delivering a $3 trillion windfall.
When David Wagner, portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors LLC, saw the post earlier Wednesday he didn’t believe it was real at first.
“Does that break the rules? I don’t know, not that Trump follows any set of rules,” Wagner said, adding that it shifts the rules of engagement in the market. “Obviously now you’re going to look to Trump for any kind of sign.”
The memory of Trump saying something similar in his first term is “something we probably should not have forgotten about. He does things like that,” said Wagner. “The rules have changed in regards to the market and the president directly interfering.”
