Trump’s tariff disaster wipes $2.5 trillion from markets as White House sends mixed signals
It was nothing but blood on the streets” as markets suffered their worst day since the pandemic.
What started as a presidential announcement has quickly spiraled into economic chaos, leaving millions of Americans checking their depleted retirement accounts and wondering what comes next.
President Trump’s sudden implementation of massive tariffs against global trading partners on what he called “Liberation Day” has triggered a financial avalanche that wiped $2.5 trillion from the S&P index in a single day – the worst market performance in five years.
But while Wall Street burned, the President offered a stunningly different assessment: “I think it’s going very well,” he told reporters Thursday, before heading to his Florida resort to host a tournament for millionaire golfers on the Saudi-backed LIV tour.
“The markets are going to boom. The stock is going to boom. The country is going to boom,” Trump insisted.
The disconnect between the President’s rosy outlook and economic reality has left experts questioning whether the administration fully understands what it has unleashed. Veteran Wall Street trader Peter Tuchman didn’t mince words when speaking to CNN: “They know nothing.”
“The formula they used… it’s like apples, oranges, a couple of cashews divided by 10 times four,” Tuchman explained. “None of it makes any sense and billions and trillions of dollars are being wiped out of the market on a day-to-day basis.”
Making matters worse, Trump’s own team can’t seem to agree on what’s happening. While the President suggested on Air Force One that tariffs were just a negotiating tactic, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick declared “The president is not going to back off,” and trade adviser Peter Navarro insisted “this is not a negotiation.”
The human cost is already becoming apparent. Stellantis, which produces Chrysler and Dodge vehicles, paused production at plants in Mexico and Canada, resulting in 900 US-based workers being temporarily laid off. Economic experts warn this is likely just the beginning.
Vice President JD Vance’s response to the market meltdown was equally jarring: “We’re feeling good. Look, I frankly thought in some ways it could be worse in the markets because this is a big transition.”
The tariffs were imposed just weeks after Trump inherited an economy that was performing well when President Biden handed it over, with stocks at record highs.
What makes this crisis unique is that it wasn’t triggered by a pandemic, natural disaster, terrorist attack, or foreign crisis – it resulted from a deliberate presidential decision that administration officials admit will cause “short-term disruption.”
Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers highlighted the unprecedented nature of the situation: “Usually, when you have a terrible stock market experience, it’s because a bank fails or there’s a pandemic or there’s a hurricane… We don’t have these kind of stock market responses in response to policies that the president of the United States is proud of. That is something that is entirely without precedent and it is extremely dangerous.”
As millions of Americans watch their investments and retirement accounts shrink, the question remains: How much economic pain are voters willing to endure, and for how long?
