Trump Administration takes nothing-to-see-here approach to market turmoil

The Trump administration spent the weekend trying to assure the nation that the sudden dive seen in the markets last week is all part of the bigger plan to make the U.S. stronger, even if it seems like the opposite may be occurring at the moment.

Trump said his effort to make America great again via tariffs will come to fruition — eventually — but in the meantime “only the weak will fail.”

“We have been the dumb and helpless ‘whipping post,’ but not any longer. We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before. Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast! THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic,” Trump wrote in Saturday Truth Social posts, emphasis his.

The president’s top economic advisors made the talk show rounds on Sunday to make the case for the tariffs after the stock market shed more than $6 trillion in value in the days following the announcement

“Look, the markets are organic animals,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during an appearance on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press with Kristen Welker’.

“You never know what the reaction is going to be. One thing that I can tell you, as the treasury secretary, what I’ve been very impressed with is the market infrastructure, that we had record volume on Friday,” the billionaire former hedge fund manager said.

The “record volume” Bessent referenced came in the form of a 2,231.07 point, or 5.5%, single-day drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which fell to 38,314.86 on Friday.

Combined with Thursday’s losses, the markets are down around 10% and have shed more value than the annual gross domestic production of the United Kingdom and Canada, representing the largest 2-day loss in history.

According to Bessent, at the very least, “everything is working very smoothly” as the markets spiral downward, “so the American people, they can take great comfort in that.”

Without being asked if a recession were imminent, Bessent denied that one is looming on the horizon.

“I reject that the assumption…there doesn’t have to be a recession. Who knows how the market is going to react in a day, in a week? What we are looking at is building the long-term economic fundamentals for prosperity that I think the previous administration had put us on a course toward financial calamity,” he said.

Top White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett acknowledged that other countries are “angry and retaliating,” after the tariff rollout — but he also added that they are, “by the way, coming to the table.”

Hassett said according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, more than 50 nations had reached out to the White House to begin talks on tariff reductions

Under the previous administration the U.S. stock market saw record growth and the nation recovered — according to most of the world’s economic experts — from the economic ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic better than the rest of the world’s wealthiest nations.

Bessent said that what we’re seeing in the markets right now is “an adjustment process” which will work out in the end. Your average American, he said, including those close to retirement, won’t be bothered by the “day-to-day fluctuations of what’s happening.”

“You know, in fact, most Americans don’t have everything in the market. Most Americans in a 401(k) have what’s called a ’60/40′ account. The 60/40 accounts are down 5% or 6% on the year. People have a long-term view, you know, they have a program. The reason the stock market is considered a good investment is because it’s a long-term investment. If you look day-to-day, week-to-week, it’s very risky. Over the long-term, it’s a good investment,” he said.

Trump also claimed U.S. corporations aren’t concerned over the tariffs because there is another “deal” in the works which will apparently turn the economy right back around.

“Big business is not worried about the Tariffs, because they know they are here to stay, but they are focused on the BIG, BEAUTIFUL DEAL, which will SUPERCHARGE our Economy. Very important. Going on right now,” he wrote, emphasis his.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick — another of the Trump administration’s billionaire officials — joined CBS news on Sunday. Asked if the White House was surprised by the market plunge seen at the end of last week, he said “no.”

“I think the point is, you need to reset the power of the United States of America and reset it against all our allies and our enemies alike,” he said.

According to Lutnick, the tariffs scheduled to go live on April 9 aren’t going away, no matter how much other countries try to negotiate their way out of them. The U.S. he said, has been “taken advantage of” for far too long.

“It’s because it’s not fair. The rules are not fair, and President Trump is going to fix them, and he’s doing it for America, and he’s doing it for your children and mine and our grandchildren. This is the moment that the United States of America takes hold of itself, and Donald Trump’s been talking about this his whole life. This is Donald Trump’s agenda, and we’re all here to help him execute it,” Lutnick said.

Despite the insistence that the tariff plan is here to stay, numerous countries are trying to broker a deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to visit the White House and speak at a press conference with Trump on Monday, with his office saying the tariffs would be a point of discussion, along with the war in Gaza and other issues.

Another American ally, Vietnam, a major manufacturing center for clothing, has also been in touch with the administration about the tariffs.

Trump said Vietnam’s leader said in a telephone call that his country “wants to cut their Tariffs down to ZERO if they are able to make an agreement with the U.S.”

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, said she disagreed with Trump’s move but was “ready to deploy all the tools — negotiating and economic — necessary to support our businesses and our sectors that may be penalized.”

Herald wire service contributed.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (AP file)

Originally Published: April 6, 2025 at 7:00 PM EDT