On Sunday, Donald Trump stated he has no intention of intentionally destabilizing the stock market, despite his recent extreme tariff announcement. However, he suggested that any consequences suffered by Americans due to his economic strategies are acceptable.
While speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump was queried about the thresholds of market pain he might find intolerable. He dismissed the question as “so stupid,” asserting, “I don’t want anything to decline, but sometimes you have to take medicine to resolve an issue.”
He went on to express a somewhat optimistic view, claiming that “eventually it’s all going to sort itself out, and our nation will be robust and secure once more.” This perspective marked a shift from Trump previously sharing and re-sharing a link on Truth Social indicating he was “Purposely CRASHING The Market.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Trump unveiled extensive tariffs that caused markets to decline over Thursday and Friday. U.S. stock futures dropped dramatically again on Sunday evening, prompting concerns over a potential “Black Monday.”
According to Rolling Stone, Trump specifically insisted on his tariff announcement showcasing “big numbers.” The conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute criticized the methodology behind this decision, revealing a math miscalculation that led to proposed tariffs being four times higher than originally intended.
Trump announced significant tariffs, including 49 percent on Cambodia, 48 percent on Laos, 46 percent on Vietnam, 36 percent on Thailand, 34 percent on China, and 20 percent on the European Union. Even penguins were not exempt, although Russia was.
When asked about the AEI analysis on Sunday, Trump’s Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins stated that the organization was “just wrong on this,” but later confessed that she had not actually reviewed the report.
Two officials from the Trump administration revealed to Rolling Stone over the weekend that although they personally view the tariff surge as perilous and possibly unwise, those within Trump’s circle who share this sentiment are largely not attempting to dissuade the president, believing that trying to change his mind about the ongoing trade conflict would either be ineffective or cause him to entrench his stance further.
“Ride it out,” one official advised.
Other individuals close to the president, along with two major GOP donors, continued to voice growing concern on Sunday that Trump’s dedication to his tariff policies, even against traditional U.S. allies, was not merely a negotiation strategy and that he was, in fact, jeopardizing the American economy for reasons tied to personal grudges and lasting obsessions.
“I am not ready to speak on the record yet, but I’ll say this: I’m not sure I would worry this much about the economy under a President Bernie Sanders,” remarked one prominent donor for Trump and the Republican Party. “That’s how dire this situation is, and time is running out to rectify things and redirect the course.”
At this juncture, Trump seems determined, through both his words and actions, to drive the nation towards widespread economic hardship, hoping that somehow the American populace will express gratitude for it.
