Donald Trump Photo : Getty images
US President Donald Trump has found himself at the centre of a new political storm, with Democrats accusing him of possible insider trading and financial market manipulation. The scandal erupted after Trump posted on TruthSocial the message “It’s a great time to buy!!! ” a few minutes after the stock market opened, which caused stocks to soar.
Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group soared by more than 21%, and later Trump announced a 90-day suspension of tariffs for dozens of countries other than China, triggering a historic recovery in the stock market – the Dow Jones index rose by 7.87% and the Nasdaq by 12.16%, the most since 2001.
“The US president is engaging in the largest stock market manipulation in history,” said Democrats from the Congressional Financial Services Committee.
Senator Adam Schiff called for a parliamentary investigation, and ethics expert Richard Painter warned that such actions could have criminal consequences:
“Presidents should not behave like investment advisers. This can be qualified as market manipulation,” he said in an interview with NBC.
The White House said that Trump was only trying to “calm the markets” amid excessive media pressure.
However, Democrats insist: did those close to Trump benefit from knowing his actions in advance? And if so, isn’t this a deliberate conspiracy to enrich themselves?
