President Trump on Friday called on investors to buy low as markets plunge in response to an escalating trade war that intensified Thursday, one day after Trump imposed massive tariffs on much of the world.
Markets fell on the news, but Trump said that represented an opportunity for people on Friday.
“TO THE MANY INVESTORS COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES AND INVESTING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MONEY, MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE. THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH, RICHER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!” Trump said on Truth Social.
On Friday morning, investors did not appear to be responding positively to Trump’s message.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down nearly 3 percent, or 1,170 points, at about 10:15 a.m. That comes on top of a nearly 1,700 point decline on Thursday.
China announced it would retaliate against Trump’s tariffs with its own tariffs on U.S. exports, news that both showed the trade war is worsening and that Beijing does not intend to sit quietly while its exports are hit.
In response, Trump accused China of panicking in its response.
The president did get some welcome economic news on Friday with a positive jobs report that exceeded economists’ expectations, with the president arguing it was a sign of his agenda yielding results.
The U.S. economy added 228,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate stayed roughly even at 4.2 percent, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department.
Economists had expected the report should show 135,000 new jobs and an unemployment rate of 4.1 percent, according to consensus estimates. The report also showed a decline in government employment of just 40,000 jobs, far fewer than the more than 216,000 federal job cuts tracked by Challenger, Christmas and Gray in March.
But those numbers were collected well before Trump’s latest round of tariffs were imposed.
“Great job numbers, far better than expected. It’s already working. Hang tough, we can’t lose!!!” Trump said on Truth Social.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the economy “is starting to roar.”
“The President’s push to onshore jobs here in the United States is working,” Leavitt said.
The White House has defended the tariff plan since the announcement on Wednesday, calling on Wall Street to trust that the plan will be a success.
The president on Thursday told reporters he thought “the markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom” from his tariffs.
The president’s steep tariff policy will impose a 10 percent tariff on all imports and higher reciprocal tariffs on countries the White House says have unfair trade practices, ranging from 20 percent on the European Union and a total of 54 percent on China.
Other countries are expected to respond, like China, with their own tariffs targeting sensitive U.S. goods, including agricultural products.
GOP senators have expressed alarm at the news.
“Most Kansans, including agriculture, which is so affected, I think they were expecting something less dramatic,” Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) said Thursday.
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