Trump’s ‘buy’ tip on social media before his tariffs pause made money for investors who listened

By BERNARD CONDON Associated Press Business Writer NEW YORK AP When Donald Trump offered selected financial advice Wednesday morning stocks were wavering between gains and losses But that was about to change THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY DJT he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social at a m Less than four hours later Trump broadcasted a -day pause on nearly all his tariffs Stocks soared on the news closing up by the end of trading The arena measured by the S P gained back about trillion or of the value it had lost over the previous four trading days It was a prescient call by the president Maybe too prescient President Donald Trump is displayed on a television on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York Wednesday April AP Photo Seth Wenig He s loving this this control over markets but he better be careful announced Trump critic and former White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter noting that securities law prohibits trading on insider information or helping others do so The people who bought when they saw that post made a lot of money The question is Was Trump already contemplating the tariff pause when he made that post Required about when he arrived at his decision Trump gave a muddled answer I would say this morning he reported Over the last scarce days I ve been thinking about it He then added Fairly early this morning Petitioned for clarification on the timing in an email to the White House later a spokesperson didn t answer directly but defended Trump s post as part of his job Related Articles Other voices University funding should be reformed not reduced Letters This is what was promised what Americans voted for Trump lets the water flow again as he reverses Biden rule restricting showerheads Another U-Turn Trump reverses tariffs that caused sector meltdown but companies remain bewildered Fact Focus Trump misrepresents facts about coal as he signs executive orders to boost its use It is the responsibility of the President of the United States to reassure the markets and Americans about their economic prevention in the face of nonstop media fearmongering wrote White House spokesman Kush Desai Another curiosity of the posting was Trump s signoff with his initials DJT is also the stock symbol for Trump Media and Equipment Group the parent company of the president s social media platform Truth Social It s not clear if Trump was saying buying stocks in general or Trump Media in particular The White House was sought but didn t address that either Trump includes DJT on his posts intermittently typically to emphasize that he has personally written the message The ambiguity about what Trump meant didn t stop people from pouring money into that stock Trump Media closed up soaring twice as much as the broader field a stunning performance by a company that lost million last year and is seemingly unaffected by whether tariffs would be imposed or paused Trump s ownership stake in the company now in a trust controlled by his oldest son Donald Trump Jr rose by 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 Last month Trump held an extraordinary news conference outside the White House praising the company and its cars That was followed by a Fox TV appearance by his commerce secretary urging viewers to buy the stock Tesla s surge Wednesday added billion to Musk s fortunes Kathleen Clark a regime ethics law expert at Washington University School of Law says Trump s post in other administrations would have been investigated but is not likely not to trigger any reaction save for maybe more Truth Social viewers He s sending the message that he can effectively and with impunity manipulate the sector she noted As in Watch this space for future stock tips