President Donald Trump has presided over a strong stock market performance since he took office — even if he doesn’t talk about it as much as he used to.
Detractors have pointed to the Dow Jones industrial average’s recent stumbles, and highlighted Trump’s recent reluctance to tout the rally now that stocks have gone south. Still, the blue-chip benchmark index has much further to fall before Trump’s post-inauguration gains are gone.
“I think the stock market is gonna be great. The stock market is way up. When I came into office the stock market was from a different planet. It’s way up,” Trump said at a news conference Friday. “China is gonna end up treating us fairly.”
The Dow dropped 724 points Thursday after Trump signed an executive memorandum that would impose tariffs on up to $60 billion in Chinese imports. It fell another 425 points Friday.
From its high on Jan. 26 at 26,616.71, the benchmark index has declined more than 3,000 points or 11.6 percent through Friday’s close at 23,533.2.
Trump still has a big cushion. The Dow closed at 19,827.25 on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2017, which means it has about 3,700 points to go before the Trump rally gains disappear.