Trump touts tax plan as Dow plummets in largest one-day decline ever
CINCINNATI -- Monday's trading day saw stocks plunge, marking a second day of trading that led to steep declines. Fears of rising inflation and potential interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve triggered the selloff.
In response, the White House issued a statement that said the economy's "long-term fundamentals" remain strong. The market's tumble came as President Trump was talking up his tax cuts in Ohio.
"Your paychecks are going way up," Mr. Trump said amid cheers and applause. "Your taxes are going way down."
As the president spoke near Cincinnati, he sounded unaware of the alarming news from Wall Street seen at the corner of screens.
"Wait until you see GDP over the next year or two. Wait until you see what happens to our country," he said.
Listening to Mr. Trump, you would not have known the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off more than a 1,000 points or that cable news networks were breaking away from his speech to sound the alarm.
Mr. Trump came to Ohio to visit with workers at a plant that makes hydraulic cylinders for finely tuned machines. And while he often talks up the stock market -- and even claims credit for its previously record setting heights -- Mr. Trump didn't mention it in his remarks Monday.
Instead, he dwelled on tax cuts and the leadership he said was needed to enact them.
"You can work hard, but if you don't have the right leader setting the right tone -- in all fairness I'm not even saying -- I am non-braggadocious," he said.
He told factory workers in Ohio that Democratic lawmakers who did not applaud good economic news he delivered during his State of the Union address last week in Washington were worse than naysayers -- they were un-American.
"They were like death and un-American. Un-American. Somebody said treasonous. I mean, yeah, I guess, why not? Can we call that treason? Why not? I mean, they certainly didn't seem to love our country very much," Mr. Trump said.
The Dow eventually plunged 1,175.21 points, or 4.6 percent, closing at 24,345.75 Monday. Upon the president's arrival back in Washington, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released the following statement in response to the financial news:
"The President's focus is on our long-term economic fundamentals, which remain exceptionally strong, with strengthening U.S. economic growth, historically low unemployment, and increasing wages for American workers. The President's tax cuts and regulatory reforms will further enhance the U.S. economy and continue to increase prosperity for the American people."