President Trump proclaimed Thursday morning that the “operation is over” just as his raft of tariffs against nearly every country began taking effect, prompting the stock market to nosedive and economic fears to mount.
“The operation is over!” Trump declared Thursday on Truth Social in all capitalization. “The patient lived, and is healing. The prognosis is that the patient will be far stronger, bigger, better, and more resilient than ever before. Make America Great Again!!!”
As part of his so-called “Liberation Day” on Wednesday, Trump announced a baseline tariff of 10% and customized rates against virtually every US trading partner, except ones that have been sanctioned and a few that were previously targetted.
The president has long called for deploying tariffs to revive domestic manufacturing and re-industrialize the US. Critics fear that the large tariffs could cause prices to spike for everyday consumers and hamper economic growth.
Markets reeled after the opening bell Thursday, with the Dow Jones cratering 1,227 points or 2.9% as of 10 am ET, while the S&P 500 dropped 205 points or 3.6% and the Nasdaq plummeted 811 points or 4.6%
