Trump urges ‘be patient’ on the economy, predicts ‘boom…like no other’

President Donald Trump on Wednesday blamed his predecessor for a volatile stock market amid an unexpected contraction of the U.S. economy in the first quarter – but voiced that the economy is still poised for rapid growth. 

Stocks fell on Wednesday morning after new data showed the economy contracted for the first time in three years.

“This is Biden’s Stock Market, not Trump’s,” the president wrote on Truth Social. 

“I didn’t take over until January 20th. Tariffs will soon start kicking in, and companies are starting to move into the USA in record numbers,” Trump continued. “Our Country will boom, but we have to get rid of the Biden ‘Overhang.’”

PRIVATE SECTOR ADDED 62,000 JOBS IN APRIL, WELL BELOW EXPECTATIONS, ADP SAYS

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 600 points, or 1.5%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were down 1.8% and 2.2%, respectively.

The stock market dip came on the heels of gross domestic product (GDP) shrinking 0.3% in the first quarter, which runs from January through March, according to the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) advance estimate. Economists surveyed by the London Stock Exchange (LSEG) had expected the economy to grow at a 0.3% rate in the quarter.

Trump announced the tariffs on April 2, which was technically in the second quarter, although some experts believe the looming threat of tariffs impacts today’s numbers. 

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE PLUNGED TO A 5-YEAR LOW IN APRIL

The president argued that the stock market jitters may take some time to iron out and insisted they were nothing to do with the sweeping tariffs he announced earlier this month.

“This will take a while, has NOTHING TO DO WITH TARIFFS, only that he left us with bad numbers, but when the boom begins, it will be like no other. BE PATIENT!!!”

For instance, imports, which count as a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, surged 41% in the first quarter, driven in part by importers preordering products in an effort to have the shipments beat the implementation of the Trump tariffs. There was also a decrease in government spending, with both these shifts partially offset by increases in investment, consumer spending and exports.

Meanwhile, consumer spending rose 1.8% with gains for both services (+2.4%) and goods (+0.5%), as increases in spending on services were widespread and led by healthcare, housing and utilities. Within spending on goods, a 2.7% increase in nondurable goods was partly offset by a 3.4% decrease in durable goods.

Business investment rose 21.9% in the first quarter after it posted a 5.6% decline in the fourth quarter. Nonresidential investment was up 9.8% in the quarter, led by a 22.5% increase in equipment spending.

Disposable personal income was 2.7% in the first quarter, up from 1.9% in the fourth quarter.

Personal savings as a percentage of personal income was 4% in the first quarter, up from 3.7% in the fourth quarter – though it’s down from 5.4% in the first quarter of 2024.