cover 59
Donald Trump is facing accusations of stock market manipulation after encouraging investors to buy shares shortly before pausing his planned tariff hikes.
On Wednesday, April 9, the former president revealed a 90-day suspension on the tariff increases—though he escalated duties on Chinese imports, citing what he called a “lack of respect” from Beijing.
Trump recently outlined his plan to implement a 10 percent “baseline” tariff on all U.S. imports, excluding goods from Mexico and Canada.
Additional tariffs targeting products from 57 key trading partners, including the European Union and China, officially took effect on Wednesday.
That same morning, as U.S. markets opened, Trump posted on X: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.”
But less than four hours later, he stunned investors by announcing a temporary 90-day pause on the tariff increases, citing outreach from “more than 75 countries” seeking to renegotiate trade deals.
It’s uncommon for the former reality star to sign off his social media posts with his initials — especially considering “DJT” is also the stock ticker for Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social. Interestingly, shares of the company surged by 22 percent on Wednesday following his post.
At the same time, the S&P 500 closed up more than 9 percent, and markets across Asia and Europe also saw gains on Thursday, April 10.
These market movements caught the attention of Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, who raised concerns and called for an investigation.
“These constant gyrations in policy provide dangerous opportunities for insider trading,” Schiff said. “Who in the administration knew about Trump’s latest tariff flip-flop ahead of time? Did anyone buy or sell stocks and profit at the public’s expense? I’m writing to the White House — the public has a right to know.”
Senator Chris Murphy echoed the concern, warning that an “insider trading scandal is brewing.” He added, “Trump’s 9:30am tweet makes it clear he was eager for his people to make money off the private info only he knew. So who knew ahead of time, and how much did they profit?”
Outspoken New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez added fuel to the growing controversy, calling for immediate transparency from lawmakers regarding their recent financial activity.
“I’ve been hearing some interesting chatter on the floor,” she posted. “Disclosure deadline is May 15th. We’re about to learn a few things. It’s time to ban insider trading in Congress.”
Trump, for his part, insisted the pause on tariffs had been under consideration for a while. “I would say this morning. Over the last few days, I’ve been thinking about it,” he said, brushing off accusations of impulsiveness.
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt painted a different picture, claiming the sudden reversal was part of a master plan and touting it as another example of Trump’s signature “art of the deal” strategy.
Before dropping the bombshell pause, Trump had tried to reassure a jittery nation bracing for economic fallout, posting a familiar call for calm on X:
“BE COOL. Everything is going to work out well. The USA will be bigger and better than ever before!”
When asked why he chose to backtrack on his controversial tariffs plan, Trump told reporters: “I thought people were getting a bit out of line, getting yippy—you know, a little too nervous, unlike these champions,” he said, gesturing to NASCAR Cup Series winners Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney who were standing beside him.
He continued, “I’m honored to have made the move, and look—this isn’t over yet.”
