Donald Trump returned to the White House to unleash his power, and the world moved at his fingertips—quite literally, when it came to social media.
Who would have thought that a single post could send global market trends into overdrive? Regardless of your market expertise, it comes as no surprise that President Donald Trump has repeatedly impacted financial markets this year by pushing out simple social media posts, blurring the lines between policy and punditry.
One of the most jaw-dropping headlines of 2025 involved a virtual standoff with China and Fed Chair Jerome Powell. But the biggest shock came just months ago, in a saga that cost and then recovered, trillions of dollars.
Trump’s Social of Chaos
A JPMorgan portfolio manager warned earlier this year, “We’re one Truth Social post away from being up or down 5% every day.”
However, a study by JPMorgan strategist Antonin Delair analyzed 126 posts from late 2024 to early 2025. It found that while mentions of the stock market have generally decreased compared to his first term, the posts that do mention tariffs remain potent.
“Among the different topics, the posts on tariffs have been the biggest market movers,” noted JPMorgan, adding that nearly a third of such posts vividly affected the market.
“THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.”
In April, the MAGA leader faced intense scrutiny after igniting “insider trading” accusations. The controversy stemmed from a prescient piece of “buy” advice dropped on social media just hours before a major U-turn on tariffs.
On April 9 (at 9:37 am ET), just after US markets opened, Trump took to Truth Social to write: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.”
At the moment, few understood him. Investors were still reeling from the mayhem of “Liberation Day” (April 2), when Trump’s new reciprocal tariff regime had sent the S&P 500 plummeting, wiping out roughly $6 trillion in equity value over the previous week.
He gave investors roughly four hours to buy the dip before triggering a spike unprecedented in US stock market history. The White House abruptly announced a 90-day pause on nearly all new reciprocal tariffs (excluding China). The reaction was immediate and violent.
The S&P 500 surged 9.52%, marking its third-largest single-day gain since World War II and adding back approximately $4.3 trillion in value in a single session. The Nasdaq exploded 12.16% higher, its second-best day in history. The Dow Jones jumped nearly 3,000 points, its strongest advance since the 2020 pandemic recovery.
Later, Trump faced severe scrutiny as shares of his own company, Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT), outperformed the broader market, soaring 22.67% that day. While Democrats called for an SEC probe, no formal charges have been filed as of December.
Trump’s $2 Trillion ‘Rare Earth’ Rant
By early October, the S&P 500 was nearing an all-time high when the picture suddenly nosedived. On October 10, a single post from Trump wiped out $2 trillion in market value.
It was a 500-word diatribe accusing China of “becoming very hostile” regarding control over rare earth metals.
“…they want to impose Export Controls on each and every element of production having to do with Rare Earths, and virtually anything else they can think of, even if it’s not manufactured in China,” he wrote therein. “Nobody has ever seen anything like this but, essentially, it would “clog” the Markets, and make life difficult for virtually every Country in the World, especially for China,” US president wrote.
But what particularly grabbed attention in this lengthy diatribe was Trump saying, “One of the policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America.”
Consequently, the Nasdaq Composite sank 3.56%, accounting for its worst performance since April, according to CNBC. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 879 points, or 1.9%, also making for its worst performance since May.
The Apple ‘America First’ Threat
Tech giant Apple was not spared. In May, shares dropped 3% following Trump’s threat to hit the company with a 25% tariff if it did not shift production to the US.
“I expect their iPhones… will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” he posted. “If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US.”
Bloomberg described the subsequent tumble as Apple’s “eighth straight negative session,” the longest selloff since January 2022.
Trump vs. Powell: The ‘Two Kevins’
The President has also come down severely on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, blaming him for slow interest rate cuts. Trump is reportedly eyeing replacements for when Powell’s term ends in May 2026, with the frontrunners being the “two Kevins”—former Fed Governor Kevin Hassett and NEC Director Kevin Warsh, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
In April, Trump demanded Powell cut rates “pre-emptively,” calling him “Mr. Too Late.” The market reacted nervously to the executive pressure, with the S&P 500 closing down 2.36% that day.