Donald Trump stated he believes the tariffs are "going very well" as the markets embarrassingly tumble right in front of his eyes.
The president held onto fierce optimism as he answered reporters' questions before boarding Air Force One on Thursday, with the reporters informing him that the stock market was tumbling.
"The markets today are way down — the worst day in years because of the tariffs. So, how's it going?" the reporter asked. Trump didn't bat an eye was he responded, "I think it's going very well."
"It was an operation, like when a patient gets operated on, and it's a big thing. I said this would exactly be the way it is. We have $6 or $7 trillion coming into our country, and we've never seen anything like it," the president continued.
"The markets are going to boom. The stock is going to boom. The country is going to boom," he raved. "And the rest of the world wants to see, is there any way we can make a deal?"
"They've taken advantage of us many, many years. For many years, we've been at the wrong side of the ball. And, I'll tell you what — I think it's going to be unbelievable," he concluded. He then waved to reporters and walked onto Air Force One.
Global markets tumbled by significant amounts on Thursday, with the Dow down over 1,400 points, or 3.4% — which was a pullback from a session low of 1,570 points in the red.
The benchmark S&P 500 was down by 4.3%, hitting its lowest level since September. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, meanwhile, plummeted by 5.5%, also hitting its lowest level since September, according to CNN. All three major indexes were previously on pace for their worst days since the 2022 inflation crisis following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Global markets were down significantly on Thursday, too, with Europe's benchmark STOXX 600 index falling by 2.57% and Germany's DAX index tumbling by 3%. Japan's Nikkei 225 index tanked by 2.77%, and Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng index fell by 1.52%. There was hardly a stock that didn't tumble significantly.
Trump imposed a massive swath of tariffs on nearly every country in the world on Wednesday for "Liberation Day," slapping import taxes on nearly every product coming into the U.S.
The move sparked fears of retaliation from the U.S.'s trading partners as the global economy tumbles. The U.S. dollar fell to its weakest level since October on Thursday.
In theory, tariffs should boost the dollar, but investors' concerns that the U.S. is creating a self-inflicted wound sent the value of the dollar sinking against other global currencies.
"They’re ignoring every rule of classic micro and macroeconomics," Michael Block, a market strategist at Third Seven Capital, told CNN. "This is the policymaking equivalent of a suicide bomber."
