Don't panic over the stock market. Trump is fixing holes in our economy. | Opinion
It's undeniable that Donald Trump's tariff war with Canada, China, Europe and Mexico has injected uncertainty and fears of recession into the markets. But it's time for perspective, not panic.
President Donald Trump has a new title: stock market master.
When the markets go down, it's his fault, according to Democrats and the legacy news media. But when they rise, as they eventually will, it won't be because of Trump.
The U.S. stock markets have had a disastrous month after recently hitting record highs. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell into correction territory – a drop of 10% or more – on Thursday, before recording a solid rebound Friday. The Nasdaq is off about 10% from its record peak in December. The Dow also is down significantly since Trump took office on Jan. 20.
It's undeniable that Trump's tariff war with Canada, China, Europe and Mexico has injected uncertainty and fears of recession into the markets.
And his critics have pounced with disdain on the markets' decline. "Wall Street is turning its back on Trump," a recent CNN headline blared. "Uncertainty is Trump's Brand," announces a New Yorker headline over Susan Glasser's piece blasting his tariffs.
Yet, it's time for perspective, not panic.
Stock market corrections are common, necessary and healthy. For example, the S&P 500 dropped more than 25% between January and October 2022 − the second year of Joe Biden's one term as president. But the markets rebounded to set multiple record highs in 2023 and 2024. There's good reason to think that the markets will bounce back in similar ways this time.
“I think it’s very possible that March, April, May could actually be one of these huge rally months where we’re rallying 10-15%,” Tom Lee, cofounder of Fundstrat Global Advisors, recently told CNBC.
Trump's working on the economy. Give it time.
It's natural to feel anxious when the markets plunge. Nobody wants to see their retirement accounts drop, especially if you're near retirement age. I have empathy for people in that position.
But it's important to remember that a large swath of the electorate didn't vote for Trump to make the stock markets skyrocket. They instead want more opportunities for good jobs and a lower rate of inflation.
And creating better jobs in the United States is the point of Trump's tariffs. The easiest way for companies to avoid the tariffs is to make more goods in this country, and that in turn will drive up wages.
Cutting inflation is the point of another Trump initiative that continues to dominate the news. Under Biden, the federal government ran deficits of nearly $2 trillion a year and the national debt soared past $36 trillion. It's imperative to cut the deficit, both to slow inflation and to trigger interest rate cuts.
Trump didn't promise that the stock markets wouldn't dip; he promised to improve the economy. Through the Department of Government Efficiency and other initiatives, that will happen, but it will take time.
The left has a double standard on the economy
There's another piece to the stock market panic worth mentioning: the left's egregious double standard.
For four years, Biden made policy decisions that rapidly drove up prices on items that Americans need − from food to cars to homes. As the Cato Institute reported last year, food prices rose less than 18% between January 2010 and January 2021, when Biden took office. But they shot up 21% in the first three years of Biden's term.
Where were the progressive protests when millions of families struggled to buy milk and fruit for their kids? The left might have amnesia, but I don't.
Trump vowed to fix the economy, and he will. Inflation will cool, interest rates will drop and consumers will regain confidence. And stocks will rebound.
Keep calm. Better days are ahead.
Nicole Russell is a columnist at Paste BN and a mother of four who lives in Texas. Contact her at nrussell@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @russell_nm. Sign up for her weekly newsletter, The Right Track, here.