President Trump told Americans Monday to be “Strong, Courageous, and Patient” with his sweeping tariff regime — as markets continued their freefall.
“The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO. Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid! Don’t be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!),” the president wrote on Truth Social half an hour before Wall Street opened for trading.
“Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!”
Trump’s message did nothing to staunch the markets’ slide, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both plunged more than 2% in the first 30 minutes of the trading day. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, meanwhile, was down 1.65% as of 10 a.m.
The presidential message of patience was the first time the president has directly told Americans not to panic after trillions of dollars were wiped off the stock market on Thursday and Friday.
The S&P 500 fell 10.5% over those two days, its most significant drop since March of 2020. The Nasdaq fell by 11.4% while Dow dipped 8.1%.
The president backed his 10% minimum base tariff and higher reciprocal tariffs package in a string of Truths on Monday — while indicating he is open to negotiating with certain countries to bring the levies down.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will send his “top team to negotiate” the 24% tariff Trump imposed on the US ally, the president wrote.
“Countries from all over the World are talking to us. Tough but fair parameters are being set. Spoke to the Japanese Prime Minister this morning. He is sending a top team to negotiate! They have treated the U.S. very poorly on Trade. They don’t take our cars, but we take MILLIONS of theirs. Likewise Agriculture, and many other ‘things.’ It all has to change, but especially with CHINA!!!”
The negotiations will not extend to China — which retaliated with a 34% tariff on the US — Trump told reporters late Sunday, until the US solves it “trade deficit” with Beijing.
He also said he has spoken to “a lot of Europeans, Asians, all over the world” over the weekend, who are “dying to make a deal.”
Trump has not stated a timeframe by which he would be willing to make a deal to reduce the levies.
“I think your question is so stupid. I don’t want anything to go down. But sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” he told a reporter Sunday evening when asked how far the market would have to drop before he negotiates
Meanwhile, White House staffers have delivered mixed messages on how long the tariffs might last.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick touted that “trillions of dollars of factories are going to be built in America” due to the economic shift towards American manufacturing, while Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett has stressed over “50 countries” have reached out to Trump to negotiate lifting the tariffs.
