Trump accused of stock market manipulation

President Trump is facing accusations of manipulating stock markets after a series of social media posts appeared to have an immediate impact on the market. On Wednesday morning, shortly after the U.S. stock market opened, Trump posted in all caps: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!”. Following this post, Trump announced significant changes to his tariff policies on most countries. Stocks surged, with the Dow closing up almost 3,000 points. Investors who took Trump’s advice to buy stocks in the morning stood to make a substantial profit by the day’s end. Prior to his post, share prices had been plummeting due to fears about the economic damage Trump’s new trade policies could cause. However, by Wednesday afternoon, Trump appeared to respond to these concerns by pausing his initial plans. Now, some Democratic lawmakers and ethics experts are calling for investigations into whether Trump was attempting to manipulate the markets or enable others to trade on insider information. Sens. Adam Schiff, Democrat from California, and Ruben Gallego, Democrat from Arizona, sent a letter to the White House requesting “an urgent inquiry” into whether Trump, his family, or other members of the administration engaged in insider trading informed by advanced knowledge of his tariff policy changes.

Trump’s stock market posts scrutinized

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Democrat from Massachusetts, also called for an investigation, questioning if this was “corruption in plain sight.” White House spokesperson Kush Desai accused Democrats of “playing partisan games” and stated that Trump’s early-morning post was merely meant to calm investors’ fears. However, Richard Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota and former chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, criticized Trump’s actions. “We can’t have senior public officials – including the president – talking about stock prices and where to buy or to sell at the same time they are making decisions that have a dramatic impact on stock prices,” said Painter. Despite calls for investigations, Painter and others do not expect significant action. Republican lawmakers, who control both the House and Senate, have shown little interest in challenging Trump. Additionally, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which investigates insider trading accusations, may not pursue the matter aggressively. Trump’s nominee to lead the SEC was confirmed by the Senate, and Trump has claimed more power over independent regulatory agencies, including the SEC. An SEC spokesperson declined to comment on the matter. Image Credits: Photo by Aditya Vyas on Unsplash