Former President Trump has sought to take credit for the stock market boom under President Biden, even as Biden’s rivals have largely shrugged off Wall Street’s meteoric rise.
Trump, who was tied to the stock market as president, is trying to claim responsibility for a series of new stock market records under the Biden administration.
But while Biden has stepped up his economic pitch, he has avoided boasting about the stock market and its associated political risks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 have hit record highs over the past week, but President Trump on Monday claimed credit for those highs.
The former president said that with polls showing Biden winning in a hypothetical rematch in 2024 and increasing optimism on Wall Street, “Investors are confident that Biden will win in November.” I predict that we will win.” But most market experts say stocks are rising on hopes that the U.S. will avoid a recession in anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts.
Trump’s attempt to claim credit highlighted the fact that Biden has little to say about the stock market, despite recent record highs.
Ellen Hughes Cromwick, who served as chief economist at the Commerce Department under President Barack Obama, believes that a better way to communicate with Americans is to focus on the economic boom that led to lower inflation and higher stock market prices. He said it was a method.
“I like the idea that this administration is focused on the eye of the tiger. The eye of the tiger is all these things that are ultimately reflected in stock market performance, future growth, future It really impacts expectations about revenue,” she said.
“So if you focus on what drives the stock market up, you’re serving the American people as a whole,” added Hughes Cromwick, a fellow at Third Way, a centrist Democratic think tank.
The president spends a significant amount of time talking about economic policy, delivering weekly speeches about manufacturing, cost cutting, and growing the middle class without mentioning the stock market.
The Biden campaign has argued that Trump’s lack of focus on the stock market is a benefit for President Trump.
“The president knows that most Americans don’t experience the economy through the stock market. That’s why he’s instead focused on lowering gas prices, creating 14 million new jobs, and reaching record lows. , and the wages of low-wage workers, which are increasing at the fastest rate in decades,” a senior campaign spokesperson told The Hill.
“Mr. Trump is talking about the stock market because he is focused on contributing to Park Avenue,” the spokesperson added. “During his presidency, he passed tax fraud that rigged the economy for big businesses at the expense of Main Street businesses, and just last week he promised even bigger corporate benefits.”
Biden and Trump are seeking to use wild swings in the U.S. economy to political advantage in a likely rematch.
The president and his Democratic allies often tout record job gains under Biden, who took office as the economy was already recovering from the COVID-19 recession. do. They also accuse President Trump, who led a strong economy until the coronavirus pandemic took hold, of leaving office with fewer Americans employed.
Most economists say a rapid economic recovery cannot be taken for granted and that Biden likely accelerated it with a strong stimulus package. But they added that Trump cannot be blamed for the labor market fallout from the pandemic that has upended the global economy.
Mr. Biden is also trying to appeal to voters after two years of high inflation, especially those left behind by the stock market rally. Economists argue that a smart strategy is not to talk about it.
“As an economist, I fully support the Biden administration’s decision not to tout the stock market rally as evidence of a common approach to policy-making. As everyone says, and they’re right about this. But the stock market is not the economy,” said Josh Bivens, research director at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank.
About 85% to 90% of corporate stock is owned by the richest 10% of Americans, Bivens said, and stock prices are influenced by a variety of factors that are disconnected from “the actual economic lives of most people.” he pointed out.
“All these considerations suggest that the stock market has no relation to most people’s actual economic situation, and that indicators such as wage growth and unemployment rates are far more relevant to the majority of people’s situation. We see that, and administrators continue to focus on those,” he said.
Recent polls also show that Americans don’t care about the stock market when judging the overall performance of the economy.According to Pew research, only 18% of Americans say they are very concerned about stock market trends, and those who feel positive about the economy say a strong stock market is the main reason they feel that way. Only 9% answered Poll released last week.
Trump, on the other hand, can’t help but talk about the stock market. The former New York businessman frequently spoke and posted on social media about the stock market, especially when it was rising.
In 2017, he openly took credit for his stock market success, adding: “I’ve always been good with money.” After he lost reelection in 2020, he burst into the White House briefing room, boasted that the stock market had climbed over 30,000 points, and left without taking any questions.
Trump has also warned since 2020 that the stock market would collapse around the time President Biden loses to the incumbent.
“I think the economy is terrible, except the stock market is going up. I’m leading Biden in every poll, so the stock market is going up,” Trump said during a Fox News town hall earlier this month. I think it is,” he said. “I think it would be a disaster if we didn’t win.”
While the White House has emphasized the importance of focusing on Main Street rather than Wall Street and has avoided responding directly to Trump, the Biden campaign took the opportunity this week to mock Trump’s comments. .
“Donald, thank you for covering today’s strong economic news. But on this planet, Joe Biden is president, and his policies have led to historic GDP growth, an ever-stronger stock market, and the post-Trump ouster. It is his policies that are helping to achieve substantial job creation in our economy,” spokesperson Ammar Moosa said.
Sylvan Lane and Brett Samuels contributed.
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