Trump says he’s for Main Street, not Wall Street

The United States economy is witnessing rapidly rising long-term interest rates, a GDP that is set to decline for multiple quarters, and inflation data jumping up. While the global financial markets are dealing with the tariff attacks, Donald Trump has stated that he is for Main Street, not Wall Street.

The S&P 500 saw another decline of 100 points as Trump’s reciprocal tariffs officially kicked in. It is now turning out to be the largest bull trap in history. European stocks are in the wildfire as the Stoxx 600 tanked 3.3%. All sectors got wrecked, not sparing healthcare, energy, or real estate. The crypto market also extended its downward run as Bitcoin price dropped by almost 4% over the last day.

Main street vs Wall street?

Speaking at a GOP fundraiser, US President Donald Trump stated that he is proud to be the President for the workers and not the outsourcers. Trump added that he “stands up for Main Street, not Wall Street who protects the middle class, not the political class; and who defends America, not trade cheaters all over the globe.”

He even mocked world leaders trying to strike trade deals with the US saying: “These countries are calling us up, kissing my ass. ‘Please, please sir make a deal. I’ll do anything, sir.’”

I’m proud to be the President for the workers, not the outsourcers; the President who stands up for Main Street, not Wall Street; who protects the middle class, not the political class; and who defends America, not trade cheaters all over the globe.

Donald Trump Truth Social…

— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) April 9, 2025

This comes after the White House confirmed a staggering 104% tariff hike on Chinese imports, effective Wednesday. It all escalated after Beijing’s refusal to drop its 34% retaliatory tariffs before Trump’s Tuesday deadline.

Trump didn’t stop there as he took aim at rebel Republicans suggesting Congress should take over trade negotiations. He said, “Let me tell you, you don’t negotiate like I negotiate.”

In a post, Trump informed that he had a call with the acting President of South Korea and they talked about tremendous and unsustainable surplus, tariffs, shipbuilding, and more.

He added that South Korea began military payments in billions of dollars during his first term but for some unknown reasons, Joe Biden terminated the deal. Trump suggested that South Korea’s top team is heading toward the United States like all other countries who want to make a deal with them. In the end, he mentioned that China also wants to make a deal, badly and he is waiting for their call.

Tariffs up, stocks down

Under the new regime, imports from the EU are now slapped with a 20% tariff. Global markets are in full panic mode. Even US Treasuries, the sacred cow of safe havens, started looking shaky. Wall Street titans like BlackRock and JPMorgan are throwing around the R-word (recession), while Europe’s 2025 bull dreams are rapidly turning into bear nightmares.

Wall Street is sweating really hard as markets have been swinging wildly. Asian indexes are in freefall, the Dow futures are down by 590 points while those on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite were down 79.8 and 335 points respectively. India’s Sensex and NIFTY 50 shed 379 and 136 points, respectively.

Reports suggest that Beijing is planning a high-level meeting after Trump’s tariff hike possibly as early as Wednesday. Economists are warning that this trade barrage could shave off up to two percentage points from China’s growth this year.

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