Trump told people to buy. Hours later, his tariff pause sent markets soaring
Less than four hours before President Donald Trump’s announcement that he was pausing tariffs sent markets soaring, he posted online telling his 9.4 million followers that it was a good time to buy.
“THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT” he posted on his social media site, Truth Social, at 9:37 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday. Shortly after 1 p.m., he announced on the same site that he would pause most new tariffs, causing the ailing stock markets to sharply rise.
Democrats are now accusing Trump of “market manipulation,” and the term is trending on the social media platform X, with more than 33,000 posts.
“The President of the United States is literally engaging in the world’s biggest market manipulation scheme,” the Democrats from the House Committee on Financial Services posted on X on Wednesday afternoon.
Trump has long drawn questions from ethics experts about his various business holdings, and after he was elected he made no promises to divest from any of his financial interests. Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children, the White House said.
The president holds much of his net worth in his stake in Truth Social’s parent company, Trump Media & Technology Group. That company trades at the ticker DJT, the president’s initials and the sign-off he used in Wednesday morning’s Truth Social post.
The company’s stock rallied with the broader markets after the tariff announcement, closing the day up more than 21 percent. [Continue reading…]