06 February 2018 - Donald Trump Touts Economy as Market Tanks
White House moves to distance Trump from market plunge
Andrew Restuccia and Cristiano Lima (Politico, 05/02/2018)
It was supposed to be a chance for President Donald Trump to sell the economic benefits of Republicans’ overhaul of the country’s tax code to the voters who will help decide this fall whether the GOP keeps its majority in Congress.
But it became clear to White House aides during Trump’s speech in Ohio on Monday that the plunging stock market was quickly overshadowing the remarks, even though the president was delivering his greatest hits: bashing the media, slamming Democrats and fanning conspiracy theories about the “deep state.”
As he wrapped up his 47-minute speech, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News had already cut away, showing viewers how much the Dow Jones industrial average had plummeted over the course of the day.
Trump and Republicans discover the perils of touting the stock market
Damian Paletta and Erica Werner (The Washington Post, 05/02/2018)
President Trump and congressional Republicans have spent much of the past year trying to connect a giddy stock market rally with their economic agenda, but stocks’ precipitous plunge in the past five days has delivered a sobering reality: What goes up can come back down — quickly and with little warning.
With Monday’s steep fall, Trump has presided over the biggest stock market drop in U.S. history, when measured by points in the Dow Jones industrial average. The free fall began in earnest Jan. 30 and snowballed Friday and Monday, for a combined loss of almost 2,100 points, or 8 percent of the Dow’s value.
It is also unclear if the past week will amount to a small correction or the beginning of a painful slide that many investors said was overdue.
WH: Economy remains 'exceptionally strong' despite market plunge
Jordan Fabian (The Hill, 05/02/2018)
The White House on Monday said the country's "long-term economic fundamentals" remain “exceptionally strong” after U.S. stocks dropped sharply earlier in the day, extending a massive sell-off on Wall Street.
“The president’s focus is on our long-term economic fundamentals, which remain exceptionally strong,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.
Sanders cited U.S. gross-domestic product growth, low unemployment and rising wages.
Read on...
White House Responds to Historic Dow Plunge: 'Focus Is on Our Long-Term Economic Fundamentals'
Aric Jenkins (TIME Magazine, 05/02/2018)
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a statement Monday in response to a historic Dow Jones industrial average plunge, which resulted in the biggest one-day point drop in the stock index’s history.
“The President’s focus is on our long-term economic fundamentals, which remain exceptionally strong, with strengthening U.S. economic growth, historically low unemployment, and increasing wages for American workers,” Sanders said in the statement.
“The President’s tax cuts and regulatory reforms will further enhance the U.S. economy and continue to increase prosperity for the American people,” she added.