'Great time to buy!': How Trump's 'buy' tip on social media before his 90-day tariffs pause made money for investors

US Stocks were seesawing between gains and losses on Wednesday morning when Donald Trump chimed in with some financial advice. At 9:37 am (US time), he posted on Truth Social: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.”

Just under four hours later, Trump announced a 90-day pause on nearly all tariffs—news that sent markets soaring. By the close of trading, the S&P 500 had jumped 9.5%, recouping around $4 trillion in market value—roughly 70% of what had been lost over the prior four trading days.

It was an impressively timed call from the president—maybe a little too well-timed.


“He’s loving this, this control over markets, but he better be careful,” Trump critic and former White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter told AP, pointing out that securities laws ban trading on insider knowledge or enabling others to do so. “The people who bought when they saw that post made a lot of money.”

The big question: Did Trump already know he’d be announcing the tariff pause when he made that post?

When asked when he made the decision, Trump gave a somewhat muddled response: “I would say this morning,” he said. “Over the last few days, I’ve been thinking about it.” He added, “Fairly early this morning.”

A follow-up email sent to the White House from AP seeking clarification didn’t yield a direct answer. Instead, spokesperson Kush Desai defended the president’s post, saying: “It is the responsibility of the President of the United States to reassure the markets and Americans about their economic security in the face of nonstop media fearmongering.”

Adding to the intrigue was Trump’s use of “DJT” at the end of his post—a signature that also happens to be the stock ticker for Trump Media and Technology Group, which owns Truth Social.

It remains unclear whether Trump was encouraging people to buy stocks in general or Trump Media specifically. The White House did not address that question either. Trump often ends posts with “DJT” to indicate that he wrote them himself.

Regardless of intent, investors flooded into Trump Media stock. The company’s shares surged 22.67%—twice the gain of the broader market—despite the firm losing $400 million last year and being seemingly unrelated to tariff policy.

Trump’s 53% stake in the company, held in a trust overseen by his eldest son Donald Trump Jr., jumped in value by $415 million that day.

Interestingly, Trump Media’s stunning rally was just barely edged out—by two-hundredths of a percentage point—by Tesla, another company recently praised by the Trump camp. Last month, Trump held an unusual press conference outside the White House to tout the company and its cars. His commerce secretary later appeared on Fox News encouraging viewers to invest in Tesla.

Tesla’s surge on Wednesday added $20 billion to Elon Musk’s wealth.

With inputs from AP