Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
- President Donald Trump sought to pin the blame on an unlikely culprit for the Dow’s latest plunge on Friday: The little-known Democratic former presidential candidate Rep. Seth Moulton.
- "The Dow is down 573 points perhaps on the news that Representative Seth Moulton, whoever that may be, has dropped out of the 2020 Presidential Race!" Trump tweeted, referring to the Democratic candidate who ended his bid for the presidency earlier in the day.
- It’s not immediately clear if Trump was just mocking the Massachusetts congressman, who failed to gain traction among Democratic primary voters and didn’t qualify for either of the June or July Democratic primary debates.
- The Dow industrial average plummeted after Trump angrily tweeted that American companies should immediately stop doing business wth China.
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President Donald Trump sought to pin the blame on an unlikely culprit for the Dow’s latest plunge on Friday: The little-known Democratic former presidential candidate Rep. Seth Moulton.
"The Dow is down 573 points perhaps on the news that Representative Seth Moulton, whoever that may be, has dropped out of the 2020 Presidential Race!" Trump tweeted, referring to the Democratic candidate who ended his bid for the presidency earlier in the day.
It’s not immediately clear if Trump was just mocking the Massachusetts congressman, who failed to gain traction among primary voters and didn’t qualify for either of the June or July Democratic primary debates.
Read more: Trump asks whether the Fed chief or China is ‘our bigger enemy’ as the trade war takes a dark turn
The Dow industrial average plummeted over 600 points Friday after Trump angrily tweeted that American companies should immediately stop doing business with China and "ordered" them to look for "an alternative."
"Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing our products HOME and making your products in the USA," Trump tweeted.
Politico reported the tweets took the president’s closest aides by surprise.
Trump has repeatedly urged US companies to move their supply chains out of China. While some have moved to Vietnam, other corporate leaders have argued shifting production elsewhere is extremely costly and risks bankrupting them.
Earlier on Friday, China announced it would impose tariffs on $75 billion worth of American goods if Trump moves forward with his next round of taxes on Chinese imports, slated to occur on September 1 and December 15.
Read more: China hits back at the Trump administration with tariffs on $75 billion worth of US products
The rhetoric marks an escalation of the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies and their economic brinksmanship — as neither show signs of backing down.
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See Also:
- Bernie Sanders just unveiled his ‘Green New Deal,’ and this one actually comes with details
- Former Tea Party congressman and recent Trump critic Joe Walsh is considering throwing his hat into the ring for the Republican presidential nomination
- Trump ranted for 35 minutes in 89-degree heat, calling the prime minister of Denmark ‘nasty,’ repeating his claim that Jewish voters are ‘disloyal,’ and saying it ‘isn’t my trade war’
Source: Business Insider – jzeballos@businessinsider.com (Joseph Zeballos-Roig)