Trump Took Credit For Stock Market Rally But Blamed Kamala Harris When It Started Crashing. Ex-President Now Gets Knocked For His Double Standards: 'You Either Own The Markets Or You Don't'

Former President Donald Trump has been criticized for his contradictory statements regarding the stock market’s performance. Trump, earlier this year, took credit for the market’s success but later blamed Vice President Kamala Harris when it started crashing.

What Happened: During a Fox News town hall in Iowa in January, Trump attributed the stock market’s success to his lead in the polls. He stated that if he wasn’t leading, the market would be 25% lower, and if he didn’t win, it would crash.

“But I would say this, we have a situation which I believe the stock market goes up because I’m leading,” he said then.

“I think if I wasn’t leading, the stock market would be 25% lower. And I think frankly, if I didn’t win, I think the stock market would crash, I believe.”

However, Trump’s narrative took a turn when the U.S. stock market, along with its global counterparts, experienced a significant downturn on Monday. The Dow Jones index fell over 1,000 points, marking its worst day in nearly two years.

See Also: Researchers Identify ‘Trump Dump’ Effect: Ex-President Is Already Causing Deep Stock Losses In Companies And Industries He Targets

Trump Blames Harris

The former president blamed it all on the current Democratic leaders and presidential nominee Kamala Harris. In a post on Truth Social, he criticized Harris and President Joe Biden, stating that their incompetence was causing the stock market to crash and job numbers to plummet.

"Stock markets are crashing, job numbers are terrible, we’re heading towards World War III, and we have two of the most incompetent “leaders” in history. This is not good!," Trump posted in capital letters.

He even warned that “we’re heading towards World War III” just because the markets were falling globally.

Trump Gets Slammed

Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto now slammed Trump for his inconsistent comments on the stock market. Cavuto pointed out that Trump takes credit when the market performs well but blames the Democrats when it doesn’t. He also noted that three of the top ten biggest point drops occurred during Trump’s administration.

"The Donald Trump thing in the market amazes me," Cavuto said.

"When they're up, it's all because of him and looking forward to him. When they're down, it's all because the Democrats and how horrific they are."

"Now, a lot of those were in the COVID years, I get that, but, you know, you either own the markets or you don't. It does confuse me."

Team Trump did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comment.

See Also: Lindsey Graham Says JD Vance Will Support Trump ‘Unequivocally'

The Monday Crash

But what led to that Monday crash? The market downturn at the start of the week was driven by fears of a recession in the U.S.

Another major contributing factor was the Yen carry-trade unwinding. The yen carry trade is a popular strategy where investors exploit the ultra-loose monetary policy of the Bank of Japan, which maintained a negative interest rate for about eight years until March and a very nominal rate of 0-0.1% until late July, marking the first hike in 17 years.

Global investors took advantage of these low rates by borrowing yen and using the capital to purchase higher-yield investments in other countries. This strategy was effective as long as Japan's interest rates stayed extremely low.

Meanwhile, Chinese yuan carry trades are on the cusp of being unwound as positioning in the yen is not extreme, according to Citigroup.

Did You Know?

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock

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Posted In: EquitiesNewsPoliticsMarketsGeneral2024 electionDonald TrumpKamala Harris
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