Trump lays blame for stock market crash

5 Aug, 2024 09:22 / Updated 1 month ago
The “inept US leadership” of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris has caused the turmoil, the former president has claimed

As stock markets in the US and worldwide are taking a tumble, former President Donald Trump has directed blame at the Democratic administration in Washington.

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris – the latter of whom is running for the White House against Trump – are responsible for the financial storm, according to the Republican nominee.

Trump made the accusation in a social media post on Sunday, writing in all caps: “STOCK MARKETS CRASHING. I TOLD YOU SO!!! KAMALA DOESN’T HAVE A CLUE. BIDEN IS SOUND ASLEEP. ALL CAUSED BY INEPT U.S. LEADERSHIP!”

Leading stock indices on Wall Street have sunk, culminating in a major sale of equities on Friday. The drop of the Nasdaq 100 amounted to the wiping out of more than $2 trillion in value in just over three weeks. The financial press has described the development as a correction after record growth of Big Tech shares on the back of advancements in AI technology.

Ripple effects hit foreign markets, with Japan’s Nikkei 225, for instance, dropping 5.8% on Friday, days after the Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate. The plunge continued as Asian and European markets opened on Monday.

President Biden’s abortive reelection campaign touted the benefits of “Bidenomics,” a claimed rapid recovery of the US economy under his tenure, as a key reason for voters to support him. The incumbent dropped out of the race last month, with the Democratic Party embracing Harris as its nominee.