Trump Urges Patience Amid Global Market Meltdown/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ President Donald Trump doubled down on his tariff policy Monday, urging patience despite a global market sell-off and growing recession fears. U.S. stocks opened sharply lower, with the Dow dropping 1,200 points amid investor anxiety. Trump maintains the tariffs are necessary to rebuild U.S. manufacturing and rebalance global trade.
Trump Holds Line on Tariffs as Market Volatility Surges: Quick Looks
- Trump tells Americans to “Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient” amid economic fallout.
- Dow falls 1,200 points; S&P 500 nears bear market territory.
- Trump defends tariffs as essential to fixing “abusive” global trade.
- Federal Reserve faces pressure to cut interest rates multiple times.
- Global leaders, including Japan’s prime minister, raise concerns over tariffs.
- European Union shifts focus to non-U.S. trade opportunities.
- Elon Musk and Bill Ackman join growing dissent from business leaders.
- Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu later Monday.
- White House adviser says other nations will “bear the brunt” of tariffs.
Trump Urges Patience Amid Global Market Meltdown
Deep Look
Trump Urges Patience as Global Markets Slide in Response to Tariffs
President Donald Trump remained unwavering Monday as the global financial markets continued to plunge following his sweeping tariff announcement last week. Despite steep losses across major stock indexes and mounting fears of a recession, Trump told Americans to hold firm.
“Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 1,200 points in early trading. The S&P 500 also edged toward bear market territory, dropping close to 20% from recent highs.
The market downturn is the most severe since the early COVID-19 crisis, and it’s beginning to fracture Trump’s support among both investors and international allies. Economists warn that further financial instability could disrupt consumer spending, delay capital investments, and trigger layoffs across key industries.
Nevertheless, Trump insisted the tariffs are necessary to “rebalance global trade” and restore domestic manufacturing strength. He singled out China as “the biggest abuser,” blaming years of past leadership for allowing U.S. trade imbalances to persist.
“These countries have taken advantage of the Good OL’ USA for too long,” Trump wrote. “Now it’s our turn.”
Rising Economic Pressure
Markets are not convinced. Goldman Sachs issued a revised forecast Monday, warning that even if the tariffs are lifted soon, the likelihood of a recession remains high. The firm cited tightening financial conditions, growing policy uncertainty, and the chilling effect on capital spending and foreign demand as contributing factors.
The Federal Reserve now faces a complex challenge. Chair Jerome Powell said Friday that the central bank was in “wait-and-see” mode but warned that tariffs could accelerate inflation. Despite that, investors expect multiple rate cuts this year, signaling that concerns about growth have begun to outweigh inflation fears.
According to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, markets now anticipate at least four interest rate cuts before year’s end.
Global Pushback
International leaders are pushing back. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the European Union would pursue trade deals with other global partners, calling the U.S. tariffs “regrettable” and noting “vast opportunities” exist beyond the American market.
Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba voiced his concerns directly to Trump in a recent phone call. Ishiba warned that the tariffs could discourage Japanese investment in the United States — investment that has helped Japan become the largest foreign investor in the U.S. over the past five years.
“This is a national crisis,” Ishiba said in a public statement, pledging to begin negotiations with Washington to reverse the trade penalties.
Domestic Divisions Grow
Back at home, the president’s economic strategy is drawing fire from business leaders, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman.
Musk, who serves as a key adviser to Trump’s federal government reform task force, publicly advocated for a zero-tariff policy between Europe and North America.
“I hope it is agreed that both Europe and the United States should move to a free trade zone,” Musk said during a video conference with Italian leaders over the weekend. “That’s my advice to the president.”
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro quickly dismissed Musk’s comments. “He sells cars,” Navarro said. “He’s protecting his own interests as any business person would.”
Ackman, meanwhile, blasted Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for appearing “indifferent” to the market collapse, accusing Lutnick’s former firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, of profiting from the economic downturn through bond holdings. Ackman later apologized for the personal attack but stood by his criticism of the tariff policy.
“I am just frustrated watching what I believe to be a major policy error,” he wrote on X.
A Packed Day for Trump
Trump is expected to maintain a busy schedule Monday. He will welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers to the White House at 11 a.m. to celebrate their World Series win. Later in the day, he will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he is expected to discuss the U.S.-Israel tariff situation, the war in Gaza, and regional diplomacy with Saudi Arabia.
The two leaders are scheduled to meet at 2 p.m. and will hold a joint press conference at 2:30 p.m.
Tariffs as Leverage
Some experts say Trump is intentionally using the tariffs as leverage to extract broader concessions from trade partners. Navarro said on CNBC that countries would need to do more than drop tariffs — they would need to overhaul regulatory systems and tax codes.
“Let’s take Vietnam,” Navarro said. “When they come to us and say, ‘We’ll go to zero tariffs,’ that means nothing to us because it’s the non-tariff cheating that matters.”
Whether Trump’s hardline approach yields meaningful trade concessions — or sparks lasting economic fallout — remains to be seen. For now, markets are on edge, allies are frustrated, and the global economy braces for more disruption.
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