The US president has faced criticism over his contradictory statements regarding stock market performance as the economy contracts for the first time in three years.
Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, he has pledged to ‘make America rich again’.
With Elon Musk as an ally, the administration has been cutting federal budgets extensively.
However, Trump has also contributed to volatility in the stock market, resulting in a $2 trillion loss in a mere 25 seconds earlier this month.
On Wednesday (April 30), the Commerce Department announced that the US economy contracted by 0.3 percent from January to March, ending a period of three years of growth.
This situation brings the country close to a technical recession, which is defined by two consecutive quarters of negative growth. The last recession occurred during a two-month span in the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic.
Trump’s aggressive tariff policies have raised concerns among economists, although the President asserts these tariffs will soon lead to a market ‘boom’.
China, significantly affected, saw tariffs increase to 245 percent before Trump temporarily suspended duties for all nations for 90 days.
China, known for having the largest manufacturing industry, has retaliated accordingly.
Meanwhile, Canada is dealing with a 25 percent tariff on all its exports to the US, requiring newly appointed Prime Minister Mark Carney to urgently address and redefine trade relationships.
As anticipated, Trump used social media to comment on the faltering economy, placing the blame on Biden.
Posting on Truth Social on Wednesday (April 30), he stated: “This is Biden’s Stock Market, not Trump’s.”
He added: “I didn’t take over until January 20th. Tariffs will soon start kicking in, and companies are starting to move into the USA in record numbers.
“Our Country will boom, but we have to get rid of the Biden ‘Overhang’.”
Trump further claimed the economic downturn had ‘NOTHING TO DO WITH TARIFFS,’ but rather that Biden ‘left us with bad numbers.’
Yet, 15 months earlier, Trump took credit for the flourishing economy while Biden was president.
On January 29, 2024, Trump stated: “THIS IS THE TRUMP STOCK MARKET BECAUSE MY POLLS AGAINST BIDEN ARE SO GOOD THAT INVESTORS ARE PROJECTING THAT I WILL WIN, AND THAT WILL DRIVE THE MARKET UP… MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Many have noticed the inconsistency, taking to X, formerly Twitter, to point out the irony.
“Just incredible,” one user commented, juxtaposing the posts and their dates.
“So according to Trump the stock market when Biden was president was Trump’s stock market, but the stock market while Trump is president is Biden’s? Makes sense,” another remarked.
A third humorously added: “TRUMP: ‘Stock market up, Trump. Stock market down, Biden. Sky blue, Trump, sky grey, Biden.'”