- Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the stock market is doing well right now.
- The only reason, he said, is because he leads Biden in the polls.
- If he loses in 2024, he said, "I think the stock market would crash."
Former Republican President Donald Trump said he believes the only reason the stock market is doing well is its success in the polls.
Trump made the claim Wednesday night at a town hall-style media event in Iowa hosted by Fox News, which was scheduled at the same time as the CNN Republican. presidential debate between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
At the town hall, Fox News host Bret Baier raised a recent comment of Trump on the stock market. "When there is a crisis, I hope it's within the next 12 months because I don't want to be Herbert Hoover," Trump said in an interview earlier this week.
In response to Baier's question, Trump said he doesn't expect a crash, he just thinks "the economy is horrible except the stock market is going up."
The former president noted that he believes the only reason for the stock market's health right now is his lead in the polls as he faces the likely 2024 Democratic nominee, President Joe Biden.
"But I would say we're in a situation where I think the stock market is going up because I'm leading," he said. "I think if I wasn't leading, the stock market would drop 25%. And I think, frankly, if I didn't win, I think the stock market would crash."
While there is little to support Trump's claims about the stock market, a market clock A December 2023 report notes that in nearly three years in office, the S&P 500 index rose nearly 17 percentage points more under Trump than Biden.
During his presidency, Trump often boasted about the performance of the stock market. Days after losing Biden in the 2020 election gave a one-minute press conference almost exclusively about the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
"The stock market just surpassed 30,000. That number has never been surpassed. It's a sacred number: 30,000. Nobody thought they'd ever see it," Trump said at the time.
The impromptu appearance surprised reporters at the White House.
"Well, that was really weird," an unseen reporter was recorded saying after Trump left the press room.
