On Monday, Donald Trump generated over 100 posts on social media in a surge of self-promoting messages, even as global stock markets experienced a steep decline amid concerns that his economic policies could lead to a recession in the US.
Instead of working to stabilize the situation following market jitters sparked by his ambiguous stance on potential recession, the US president opted to share a flurry of links on Truth Social, the platform he owns, starting at 11:44 am ET with a link to a Fox News article about British Prime Minister Keir Starmer advocating for increased defense spending prior to his visit to Washington last month.
In quick succession, dozens of additional posts appeared, primarily highlighting articles that lauded Trump’s policies, both economic and otherwise.
At 1:05 pm—just after the FTSE in London had dropped by 1.4%, with media analysts already speculating about a possible US recession or “Trumpcession”—the president focused not on the economy, but rather on Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist and legal US resident whose arrest by immigration authorities over the weekend ignited widespread protests.
Following a brief lull, Trump’s account resumed with a series of unembellished links discussing topics including a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize from a Republican in Congress and embedded tweets showing Republican support for him.
After US markets closed—with the S&P down 2.7%, the Dow Jones down 2%, the Nasdaq down 4%, and Tesla shares, owned by Elon Musk, experiencing their worst day since late 2020 with a drop of 15 points—Trump’s account began posting advertisements for The Apprentice, the reality show from the 2000s that rejuvenated his career and propelled him towards political prominence.
He subsequently labeled Canada as “a tariff abuser” and praised Elon Musk for “putting it on the line” to assist the nation, declaring he is doing a “FANTASTIC JOB!” while accusing left-wing activists of “illegally and collusively” attempting to boycott Tesla.
As is typical, White House officials were speaking anonymously to the media to clarify the president’s remarks and to help alleviate rising concerns regarding economic instability.
In an interview with CNBC, one official stated: “We’re observing a significant disconnect between the market’s animal spirits and what’s actually unfolding from businesses and business leaders. The latter is undoubtedly more significant in terms of what is to come for the economy in the medium to long term.”
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Michael Wolff, author of four books examining Trump, has indicated that many posts on the president’s social media account are actually created by Natalie Harp, a devoted aide, whose close relationship with Trump has caused confusion, anger, and concern among family members, as noted by Wolff.
Sarah Matthews, a communications aide during Trump’s first term, revealed in congressional testimony that it is “painfully obvious” when a tweet or social post is authored by Trump himself due to “the phrasing of it, the capitalization of letters.” She remarked that posts made by aides “appear a bit more grammatically correct.”
