CNN came with the receipts, airing a supercut of clips from 2020 and 2024 of President Donald Trump making hilariously wrong economic predictions—a damning reel of evidence as financial markets decline and investor concerns grow over Trump’s trade policies.
In fact, Trump’s escalating trade war pushed the S&P 500 more than 10% below its record high set just last month. A drop of this size is significant enough that professional investors call it a “correction,” and the S&P 500’s 1.4% decline on Thursday marked its first since 2023.
The losses followed Trump’s decision to threaten steep taxes on European wines and alcohol. Shortly afterward, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 537 points, or 1.3%, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 2%. The markets swung hour to hour, with the Dow fluctuating between a slight gain and a 689-point loss during Thursday’s trading.
Ironically, Trump had previously warned that were he to lose either of the two prior elections, the stock market would crash.
During his 2020 campaign, Trump said the following about former President Joe Biden, whom he was campaigning against at the time:
"If he gets in, your stocks will go to hell. ... Your stocks, your 401K."
His prediction couldn’t have been more off: The Dow hit a then-record high of 31,188 on Biden’s inauguration day—and kept climbing, eventually surpassing 45,000 in December 2024.
And last year, he made an equally bad prediction about a potential Kamala Harris victory while campaigning against the former vice president:
"If Kamala wins this election, the result will be a Kamala economic crash. ... When I win the election, it'll immediately begin a brand-new Trump economic boom. It’ll be a boom! We’re gonna turn this country around so fast.”
Considering the economic havoc the swinging markets and billionaire Elon Musk's slash-and-burn federal spending cuts—which have cost thousands of people their jobs—have brought to the second Trump administration, it's safe to say Trump was dead wrong.
You can hear the things Trump said in the video below.
No one is surprised—and the mockery of Trump was swift.
A new CNN poll conducted by SSRS shows that Americans are not pleased with President Donald Trump’s management of the economy, leaving him with unfavorable ratings on what is considered the nation’s most important issue.
Behind closed doors, members of the White House's National Economic Council have expressed concerns that a quick recovery from a downturn may be difficult, according to two people familiar with internal discussions.
Another person who frequently speaks with administration officials said the White House is trying to take a long-term approach to the economic instability—and there's no guarantee a turnaround will materialize.
Many administration officials do not view tariffs as a valid policy alternative and believe they likely won’t stay in place for long, but according to this source, Trump "doesn't want to talk to them right now."
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