Trump's “buy” tip on social media to make money for investors heeded before his tariffs pause
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks wavered between earnings and losses when Donald Trump offered some financial advice Wednesday morning.
But this is going to change.
“This is a good time to buy! DJT.” He wrote in the social media platform truth social at 9:37 a.m.
Less than four hours later, Trump announced a 90-day pause on almost all of his taxes. Stocks soared in the news, closing 9.5% by the end of the deal. The market, based on the 500 index, lost about $4 trillion, or 70% in the past four trading days.
This is the president's foresight. Maybe it's too prescient.
“He loves this, control over the market, but better be careful,” said Richard Painter, a Trump critic and former White House moral attorney. “The people who buy when they see that position make a lot of money. ”
The question is, is Trump already considering a tariff pause when he published the post?
When asked when to make a decision, Trump gave a chaotic answer.
“I said this morning,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about it for the past few days.”
Then, he added: “It was quite a bit this morning.”
When asking for clarification on the timing of the White House emails later, the spokesperson did not answer directly, but defended Trump's position, which was part of his job.
“In the face of uninterrupted media fear, the U.S. president has the responsibility to reassure the market and Americans about their economic security,” White House spokesman Kush Desai wrote.
Another curiosity in the post is Trump’s acronym.
DJT is also a stock symbol of Trump’s media and technology group, the parent company of the president’s social media platform Truth Social.
It is not clear whether Trump is talking about buying stocks in general, especially Trump’s media. The White House was asked, but it was not resolved. Trump intermittently included “DJT” in his posts, usually to emphasize that he wrote the message himself.
Ambiguity about what Trump means does not stop people from putting their money into the stock.
Trump's media closed up 22.67%, a stunning performance of a company that lost $400 million last year, an amazing market that seems unaffected by whether tariffs will be imposed or suspended.
Trump, who owns 53% of the company's ownership stake, now controlled by his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., rose $415 million on the day.
Trump's media was beaten by another percent, but the Trump administration's stock pick – Elon Musk's Tesla.
