Daniel Wolfram
Just hours after boasting about soaring 401(k)s, Trump told Americans not to blame him as tech stocks erased nearly $1.8 trillion in value.
After a great Wednesday, Wall Street suffered a punishing reversal on Thursday, wiping out a brief post-election rally and leaving investors shaken.
According to Mediaite, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 3.44 percent, while the S&P 500 tumbled 4.36 percent and the Nasdaq fell 5.52 percent before the closing bell.
Election Day reversal
The biggest losses landed on the Big Tech companies. As nervous traders rushed for the exits, the Nasdaq 100 index shed nearly $1.8 trillion in value, dragged down by heavy losses across artificial intelligence and semiconductor firms.
Investors feared that incoming Democratic lawmakers would push for stricter regulations on the booming sector.
Just twenty-four hours earlier, President Donald Trump had celebrated a momentary jump in equities after voters handed both chambers of Congress to Democrats.
“Stock Market just hit another Record High — 91 Days in just a short period of time — Less than two years. Your 401(k)s are through the roof. Record Setting All! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” he wrote on Truth Social Wednesday.
Earlier, he had boasted that retirement accounts were soaring, but by Thursday night that triumphant tone had evaporated completely.
Pointing the finger
Trump wasted no time dodging the fallout. Rather than acknowledging broader market forces, he wrote on Truth Social, the day after touting great results on the stock market, that everyday voters had only themselves to blame for the crash after handing victories to Democrats. He urged the public to remember that the downturn was not his fault.
Trump wrote, “The Stock Market suffered one of the Worst Days in History based on the results of the Election. Such a sad thing to watch! […] Remember, it wasn’t Republicans, it was Dumocrats.”
In a follow up, Trump blamed Americans directly. “The Stock Market crashed today because the Dumocrats had a big Tuesday — So sad to see, you only have yourselves to blame! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Market watchers, however, saw a different picture behind the drop. According to Mediaite, eToro market analyst Jakub Rochlitz said, “The obvious catalyst for the sharp selloff is that markets are pricing in the midterm results.”
