With hundreds of postings

Stock markets plummet, but Trump celebrates himself

During the stock market quake on Wall Street, Trump fired off hundreds of posts, but hardly of an economic nature.

(Bild: AFP/ROBERTO SCHMIDT)

While panic reigns on the international stock markets, US President Donald Trump is focusing on self-promotion as usual. After an unsettling interview and a massive slide in share prices on Wall Street, the President distracted from the crisis with a veritable marathon of posts on Truth Social - and made Elon Musk the central figure in a new debate.

Trump's TV interview at the weekend with his former favorite channel Fox News has startled investors on the global stock markets. The President did not want to give a clear answer to the question of whether the USA is facing a recession.

As a result, the stock markets plummeted: The S&P 500 fell by 2.7 percent and the Nasdaq by as much as 4 percent, marking the biggest one-day loss since September 2022. Overall, the markets have lost over four trillion dollars in value since their peak in February.

Trump's tariff cudgels scare off investors
Experts blame Trump's tariff policy in particular for the uncertainty. The trade tariffs he has imposed on imports from Canada, Mexico and Europe are scaring off investors. Peter Orszag, CEO of investment bank Lazard, warned at the CERAWeek conference in Houston: "If these tensions are not resolved soon, it could have serious consequences for the US economic outlook."

Trump's posting fireworks
While investors fear for billions, the President is preoccupied with himself. On Monday afternoon (local time), Trump launched a flood of posts on his own Truth Social network - over 100 within just a few hours. First he posted an article about UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, followed by numerous links to reports praising him.

While the London Stock Exchange then closed down 1.4 percent, Trump continued to focus not on the economy but on the arrest of a pro-Palestinian activist.

Reality show instead of Tesla crash
The president stuck to his strategy even after the close of trading: while Tesla shares experienced their worst day since 2020 and fell by 15 percent, Trump promoted his former reality show "The Apprentice" and attacked Canada as a "customs abuser". He later defended Tesla boss Elon Musk and claimed that "radical leftists" were boycotting the company in order to harm Musk.

Trump: "Will buy brand new Tesla tomorrow"
Tesla is actually one of the biggest losers in the current market turmoil. Analysts blame falling sales figures and production problems in particular. The Trump administration is indirectly contributing to this: The president has reversed measures introduced by his predecessor Joe Biden to boost sales of electric cars and halted planned investments in charging stations.

Nevertheless, Trump is demonstratively backing Musk. He announced: "I will be buying a brand new Tesla tomorrow morning to show my support for Elon Musk." Economic experts consider this to be pure symbolic politics. While Trump portrays Tesla as the victim of a left-wing boycott, analysts see the problems primarily in the company's management and the tough international competition.

White House tries to limit the damage
While Trump continues to focus on self-congratulation, the White House is trying to calm the waters. A government representative told CNBC: "We see a strong discrepancy between the mood on the markets and the actual economic development." The economy is in a "transitional phase", explained spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt at a press conference.

Falling stock market prices are a snapshot in time. Leavitt said that predecessor Joe Biden had left the country in an "economic disaster". However, many economic indicators and growth forecasts were better under the Democrat than recently.

Michael Wolff, author of several Trump books, also revealed that many of the president's social media posts are not written by him, but by his assistant Natalie Harp.

Is this the start of a "Trumpcession"
As the markets slide, one question in particular remains unanswered in the financial world: Is the current plunge merely a correction or the start of a genuine "Trumpcession" (US neologism for Trump and recession) - with correspondingly devastating economic consequences for the US. In any case, Trump will not be able to avoid the issue for too long.