Trump Can’t Stave Off Recession Even After Chickening Out on Tariffs
Donald Trump may have reversed course on tariffs, but that doesn’t mean the economy has reversed course away from a recession.
Some of the country’s largest investment firms—including JP Morgan and MetLife—are still warning their clients that the country is on the verge of a recession, despite the seemingly temporary market frenzy sparked by Trump’s decision to cave on his trade war.
JP Morgan said Wednesday evening that it wouldn’t change its economic forecast, predicting a 60 percent chance of a recession both at home and around the world. Goldman Sachs said that the odds of entering an economic downturn had been slightly buoyed by Trump’s news, but the odds were still elevated at around 45 percent.
“My sense here is that the economy is still likely to fall into recession, given the level of simultaneous shocks that it’s absorbed,” Joe Brusuelas, chief economist of consulting firm RSM, told CNN. “All this does is postpone temporarily what will likely be a series of punitive import taxes put on U.S. trade allies.”
Before Trump announced the 90-day tariff pause (except those placed on China) on Wednesday, MetLife released a note indicating to its investors that Trump’s policies had done permanent damage to the American market.
“Even if there is a near-term resolution of the tariff and other trade issues, damage has been done to the economy and to consumer expectations,” the note reads. “It is also unlikely that markets will rebound fully meaning that for the large cohort of workers approaching retirement and for those workers striving toward home ownership, the boost in the savings rate prompted by this volatility may be sustained. “
Meanwhile, Trump is continuing to stoke tensions with China. After volleying with the foreign economic powerhouse over reciprocal tariffs for the bulk of Wednesday, Trump revealed yet another levy hike, bringing the total tariff on China to 145 percent. That was composed of a 20 percent fentanyl tariff—which the White House has claimed is effectively punishment for contributing to a domestic fentanyl crisis—tacked onto a 125 percent reciprocal tariff. Unfortunately for American wallets, that once again sent stocks tumbling.
Volatility in the bond market—which has traditionally served as an investment safe haven during the market’s rough waters—has also sparked fears that Americans no longer see the U.S. government as a stable, long-term investment.
Donald Trump is openly bragging about just how much money his billionaire buddies made off of his dangerous tariff gambit.
After announcing a 90-day pause Wednesday on his sweeping “reciprocal tariff” policy on nearly every country—with the exception of China—Trump was excited to take credit for making a buck for his guests at the Oval Office.
“He made $2.5 million today, and he made $900 million! That’s not bad,” Trump said, pointing to financial investor Charles Schwab and Roger Penske, a Nascar team owner, respectively.
Schwab’s estimated net worth is $12.6 billion, while Penske’s is $5.6 billion.
Bloomberg reported that Wednesday was the “best day ever” for billionaires, as the world’s wealthiest people raked in a heaping $304 billion as the markets shot back up.
The day’s biggest individual winner should come as no surprise: Elon Musk made a whopping $36 billion as Tesla stock soared up 23 percent. Trump’s surprising decision to temporarily back off his steep tariffs has sparked major concerns of obvious market manipulation, and even potential insider trading.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other Democrats are accusing Donald Trump and his administration of manipulating the market to their benefit.
Just days after Trump announced his”Liberation Day” tariffs that sparked global financial chaos and tanked markets, Trump at the last minute paused most of the tariffs for 90 days, despite previous vehement claims that he would not back down on his plan.
Following the pause, stock performances across the board surged drastically—the Nasdaq jumped by 12.2 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial average increased by 3,000 points, the largest single-session increase ever recorded. Anyone who knew about the pause in advance would’ve made a killing.
“Any member of Congress who purchased stocks in the last 48 hours should probably disclose that now,” AOC wrote in a post on X on Wednesday. “I’ve been hearing some interesting chatter on the floor. Disclosure deadline is May 15th. We’re about to learn a few things. It’s time to ban insider trading in Congress.”
Her post was accompanied by a screenshot that showed a drastic spike in Nasdaq call volume right before Trump announced the pause, indicating the president may have leaked the information to his allies, who could have invested knowing stocks would soar. Just hours before his shocking flip went public, Trump also published a series of suspicious posts on Truth Social.
“BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well. The USA will be bigger and better than ever before!” he wrote Wednesday morning. “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY,” Trump posted minutes later.
AOC isn’t the only Democrat suspicious of the GOP’s brinkmanship. In a floor speech Wednesday, Senator Elizabeth Warren called for an investigation into Trump’s volatile change of course.
“We need an independent investigation into market manipulation because Americans need to know whether President Trump or anyone in his administration manipulated the market to benefit their donors, all while they are working for the American people, and while small businesses and those working families are paying the price,” Warren said.
Senator Adam Schiff warned the president’s........© New Republic
