President Donald Trump said Wednesday that it was a “big mistake” that the stock market went down in recent days, though it wasn’t immediately clear whose judgment he meant to impugn. The White House didn’t immediately respond to TPM’s request to clarify the tweet.
In the “old days,” when good news was reported, the Stock Market would go up. Today, when good news is reported, the Stock Market goes down. Big mistake, and we have so much good (great) news about the economy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 7, 2018
Trump appeared to be referring to the dramatic dip in markets that made international headlines on Monday, though that decline came in the context of record stock market highs over much of the past year.
The White House said after the sell-off began that the market’s fundamentals remain strong, and investors seem to agree.
Still, Trump has surfed the bull market for much of his presidency, and he’ll take the same credit for any downturns.
On Tuesday, a reporter asked White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders what the President made of the market’s multi-day volatility, “and does he have any regrets about taking responsibility or credit for the stock market’s rise?”
“Look, the economy is incredibly strong right now,” Sanders responded. “The President’s focus continues to be on the long-term economic fundamentals, which, like I just said, are very strong in this country.
She added, rattling off economic bullet points: “There’s nothing that’s taken place over the last couple of days in our economy that’s fundamentally different than it was two weeks ago, and we’re very comfortable with where we are right now.”
