US President Donald Trump is facing fresh scrutiny after urging people to ”buy’ amid the recent stock market crash — hours before he announced a pause on sweeping reciprocal tariffs. Democrats have since issued calls for an insider trading investigation with many noting that one of his two posts had also included the ticker symbol for his own company. A video of Trump joking about how associates had made hundreds of millions of dollars have also gone viral in the ensuing hours.
“He made 2.5 million today and he made $900 million. That’s not bad,” the POTUS can be heard saying amid laughter in the widely circulated clip.
His own 53% ownership stake in Trump Media — now in a trust controlled by his oldest son Donald Trump Jr — rose by $415 million on the day. Trump Media was bested, albeit by only two-hundreds of a percentage point, by another Trump administration stock pick — Elon Musk’s Tesla.
Trump had insisted via a social media post on Wednesday morning that this was a “great time to buy” as stock markets tumbled and a global trade war appeared to loom. The post concluded with his initials “DGT” — which also happens to be the stock ticker symbol for Trump Media (the company that owns Truth Social). While the President frequently signs his social media updates in a similar manner, many on the internet have suggested that it was a rather personal call to action from Trump.
Regardless of intent, his company posted a stunning rally as investors rushed to buy Trump Media stock. The company — where the President owns a 53% stake saw shares surge 22.67% — twice the gain of the broader market on Wednesday. The White House did not address questions about whether the US President was encouraging people to buy stocks in general or specifically Trump Media.
It has also remained unclear when the decision to revoke tariffs was actually taken by the White House. Top aides have also opted to answer this query by insisting that it was the President’s job to “reassure the markets and Americans about their economic security”.
“I would say this morning. Over the last few days, I’ve been thinking about it. Fairly early this morning,” the President answered somewhat vaguely upon being asked when he arrived at the decision to reverse the tariffs.
“He’s loving this, this control over markets, but he better be careful…The people who bought when they saw that post made a lot of money,” said Trump critic and former White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter told AP.
Several Democratic lawmakers have also claimed that an “insider trading scandal” was now brewing. Securities law prohibits trading on insider information or helping others do so.