President Donald Trump pleaded with the public to “be cool” as Europe approved retaliatory tariffs against the United States and the global stocks sell-off spread to the bond market.
In an attempt to reassure panicked traders, the president posted a series of full caps messages on his Truth Social account.
“BE COOL!” he wrote. “Everything is going to work out well. The USA will be bigger and better than ever before!”
As investors around the world were sending the markets reeling, Trump insisted in another post: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.”
He also quoted JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon as saying: “Fixing Trade and Tariffs is a good thing!”
Dimon’s remark came from a longer interview with Maria Bartiromo on the Fox Business Network in which he said he believed a recession was a “likely outcome” resulting from Trump’s tariff blitz.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also chimed in, telling a banker’s convention in Washington that the economy was “in pretty good shape.”
U.S stocks rose after Trump’s call for calm but remained volatile after the president’s reciprocal tariffs kicked in for nearly 100 countries overnight.
Wall Street wobbled again on Wednesday morning after Beijing announced a total levy of 84 percent on imports from the U.S. going into effect at noon after Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 104 percent.
Europe followed suit by approving 25 percent import taxes on a wide range of products from America.
In what was seen as a counter threat to Trump’s power play, European Union leaders said the tariffs can be suspended “at any time” if the administration backs off and agrees to a “fair and balanced negotiated outcome.”
The market rout in Asia and Europe was followed on Wall Street, where trading remained volatile on the S&P 500. The dollar also fell, and, in a worrying development, the tumult was also felt in government bond yields, traditionally a safe haven for investors during times of economic uncertainty.
“The shrill voices that you’re hearing this week about tariffs are the same scoundrels and frauds who never thought twice about when the United States lost 90,000 factories and plants… since NAFTA,” Trump said at a dinner in Washington on Tuesday night.
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