President Donald Trump’s post insisting it would be “great time to buy” shared hours before announcing a tariff pause has sparked concerns of possible insider trading.
In a post to Truth Social Wednesday afternoon, the president announced that he would be authorizing a 90-day pause and “a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff” after receiving calls from “more than 75 countries” trying to negotiate deals.
Just three hours prior to the announcement, Trump had posted to the same account, “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!”
Stocks began skyrocketing after Trump’s declaration, with the S&P 500 climbing over 5% and the Nasdaq 100 up almost 8%. Prior to the pause, the stock market had been unstable, with plunges over the last several days leading economists to worry about a possible recession.
However, the two posts’ close succession were noted by social media users, who began raising concerns on whether insider trading could have occurred.
“Trump frontran his own announcement to pause tariffs by saying it’s a ‘GREAT TIME TO BUY!’ 3 hours before huge news for stocks hit,” one user tweeted. “This is levels of insanity we’ve never seen before.”
lmao – Trump frontran his own announcement to pause tariffs by saying it’s a “GREAT TIME TO BUY!” 3 hours before huge news for stocks hit.
this is levels of insanity we’ve never seen before. pic.twitter.com/efTsO4qlkA
— Coffeezilla (@coffeebreak_YT) April 9, 2025
“I want to know what trades were made by members of the Trump Administration before these unhinged tariff moves?” another user implored.
I want to know what trades were made by members of the Trump Administration before these unhinged tariff moves?
Who, if anyone, shorted stocks before the tariffs were first announced? Who bought back into the market before this pause was announced? Who is profiting from this? https://t.co/UrWbFxa4sh
— Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) April 9, 2025
The announcement of the pause led to several users questioning if Democrats would investigate, while others noted the on-and-off pattern of Trump implementing and pausing tariffs.
“Trump has been f–king with the markets so his wealthy friends could buy low. His behavior should be investigated as insider trading,” one user commented.
“If tariffs are truly the answer, why would he be pausing them?” one user posted.
However, not all countries are included in the tariff pause. Trump noted that the tariffs on China would actually be raised to 125% in response to the country implementing 34% tariffs on the U.S., the same percentage that the U.S. initially planned to tack on the country’s exports.
Trump noted in his Truth Social post that the countries included in the pause “have not, at my strong suggestion, retaliated in any way, shape, or form against the United States.”
China has not yet publicly commented on Trump’s new tariff hikes.
Originally published on Latin Times
