Everyone's pointing out what Trump posted on Truth Social hours before he announced 90-day pause to tariffs
While stock markets are rapidly recovering in the wake of the 90-day tariffs pause, some have pointed out Donald Trump made a suspicious comment about the debacle.
The recent toing-and-froing of tariffs inflicted on the US' trading partners under Trump's orders to 'Make America Wealthy Again' is arguably having the opposite effect.
When the POTUS announced on April 2 that more than 60 countries, including islands inhabited only by penguins, would face a baseline tariff of 10 percent or more on their goods coming into the US, the stock market plummeted $2 trillion in just 25 seconds.
The sweeping tariffs, applied 'whether friend or foe,' were rolled out as of midnight while he said a second load would apply to the 'worst offenders' as of April 9, including a 20 percent tariff on goods from the European Union, 34 percent on China and 46 percent on Vietnam, among many others.
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Most countries stated they would retaliate with tariffs on American goods with China leading the way to 'fight to the end' while the EU said countermeasures were not off the table just yet.
Yet come the big day, Trump seemed to have a dramatic U-turn, announcing he would temporarily suspend the higher rates on every country other than China, which he increased tariffs even further to 125 percent after accused Beijing of a 'lack of respect.'
Still, the sudden change of heart has breathed new life into the stock market, with US shares soaring in the S&P 500 by seven percent by mid-day after the announcement, and closed the day up 9.5 percent while Dow Jones surged by 7.8 percent.
As of Thursday (April 10), world markets were booming back in business, with Japan's benchmark jumping by more than 9 percent as investors welcomed the decision.
However, some have noticed Trump made a strange statement mere hours before announcing the hold that afternoon.
Taking to his Truth Social platform, he wrote: "THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT", at 9.37am.
Some have pointed out the encouragement to 'buy' and invest is suspicious, given the timing, and that the POTUS could be manipulating the markets.
California Democrat representative Mike Levin said on Twitter: "Trump posts THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!—then caves on tariffs hours later. Market surges. Middle-class investors who sold during the chaos lose big. Insiders win again.
"This is market manipulation to help his base profit. How is this legal or OK?"
The Californian congressman said in a follow-up video that those who listened to Trump and bought 'did great' while who decided to sell 'got screwed'.
"This is market manipulation at its worst," he concluded.
Another said: "So, [Trump] f**kin tanks markets to increase the market? There’s a word for that: ILLEGAL."
A third chimed: "He's intentionally tanking the stocks so that all of the billionaires can buy low and then cancel the tariffs so that they all get even richer. Manipulating the market. Disgusting."
"This administration is going to be investigated for market manipulation," a fourth wrote.
Another said the events presents 'levels of insanity we've never seen before.'
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted the policy U-turn was not influenced by global falls while senior Democrat Chuck Schumer said it was evidence of Trump 'retreating.'
Trump also insists the hold-off 'had to be done' because people were 'getting yippy.'
"I did a 90-day pause for the people that didn't retaliate because I told them 'if you retaliate, we're going to double it' - and that's what I did with China," he said before adding: "It's all going to work out amazing."
Topics: Donald Trump, Tariffs, Politics, China, US News, World News, Money
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