President Donald Trump has praised his billionaire friends for profiting from the trade war, just hours after encouraging Americans to invest in the stock market.
New footage circulating online shows the 78-year-old Republican proudly sharing how two of his already wealthy friends made over $3 billion between them as stocks briefly rebounded.
On the morning of April 9, the president took to Truth Social to post: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.”
Charles Schwab clearly took notice—though Trump was referring to the individual, not the company.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump joked, “This is Charles Schwab… it’s not just a company, it’s actually an individual!”
He then went on to explain how he personally made $2.5 billion in the stock market, while another friend of his raked in $900 million.
This stands in stark contrast to the reality faced by many everyday Americans, who are bracing for the possibility of another recession.
His advice came just under four hours before he announced a 90-day pause on tariffs that had previously been imposed on several countries.
“Due to the lack of respect China has shown toward the world’s markets, I am immediately raising the tariff charged to China by the United States to 125%,” he posted on his social media platform.
“At some point, I hope China will realize that the days of taking advantage of the U.S. and other countries are over and can no longer continue.”
“Additionally, more than 75 countries have reached out to U.S. representatives, including those from the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and the USTR, to negotiate a solution to the ongoing issues.”
President Donald Trump holds up a chart while speaking during a ‘Make America Wealthy Again’ trade announcement event on April 2 (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The president’s post continued: “Regarding trade, trade barriers, tariffs, currency manipulation, and non-monetary tariffs, these countries have not, despite my strong recommendation, retaliated against the United States in any way.”
“I have authorized a 90-day pause, along with a significantly reduced reciprocal tariff of 10% during this period, effective immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Senator Chris Murphy has suggested Trump’s advise could infringe on insider trading standards (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Fair Share America)
