Daijiworld Media Network – Washington
Washington, Apr 7: Amid mounting concerns over a market crash, US President Donald Trump on Sunday night defended his sweeping new tariffs that have sent shockwaves through global markets, insisting that short-term pain was necessary for long-term economic health.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, Trump remarked, “Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.” His comments came as U S stock futures nosedived, with Dow Jones futures plunging by nearly 1,000 points, forecasting a volatile start to trading on Monday.
The US markets have already witnessed a sharp downturn since Trump’s surprise announcement of 10% tariffs on all imports, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 9.2%, the S&P 500 falling 10.5%, and the Nasdaq tumbling by 11.4% — the worst weekly performance since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When asked about the growing investor anxiety, Trump downplayed the concerns. “What’s going to happen with the market? I can’t tell you. But I can tell you our country has gotten a lot stronger, and eventually, it’ll be a country like no other,” he asserted.
Trump denied suggestions that the tariffs were intended to crash the markets. “No, that’s not so,” he said, reacting to viral speculation triggered by a video he reposted on Truth Social titled “Purposely CRASHING The Market.”
The President defended his protectionist stance, claiming that previous administrations had allowed other nations to exploit the U S economy. “They took our businesses, they took our money, they took our jobs,” he said. “They moved it to Mexico, they moved it to Canada, they moved a lot of it to China.”
The baseline 10% tariff took effect on Saturday, while reciprocal tariffs targeting major trading partners like China and the EU are slated to begin Wednesday. Trump argued the move is aimed at correcting trade imbalances. “We're not going to have deficits with your country,” he told foreign leaders during what he described as a weekend of intense diplomacy. “To me, a deficit is a loss.”
The White House, meanwhile, remains tight-lipped on whether any exemptions or rollbacks will be considered. Economists and investors continue to warn of deeper global ramifications if the trade war escalates further, especially amid existing economic fragilities.
With the markets on edge, analysts say the coming days will be crucial in determining whether the former President’s economic gambit pays off or triggers a deeper financial upheaval.