Trump bases his success on the stock market. He’s been awfully quiet about it lately

So much for the theory that Wall Street will keep Trump in line …

In the waning days of 2024, as the world braced for the start of the second Trump presidency, there was a theory making the rounds that went like this: Sure, economists said his agenda could spell disaster but there’s at least one institution that would be able rein in Trump’s worst instincts — Wall Street! There was good reason to believe that Donald Trump was so afraid of stocks falling on his watch that he’d retreat from some of his more extreme policies. Like across-the-board tariffs, which would eat into profit margins and infuriate investors. Several analysts said as much to my colleague Matt Egan at the time. And more than a dozen people close to the president told the New York Times that he “sees the market as a barometer of his success and abhors the idea that his actions might drive down stock prices.” It was a nice idea — and, based on evidence from his first term, a probable one. It hasn’t held up so far. Stocks tumbled around the world Tuesday in response to Trump’s decision to go through with tariffs on America’s closest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, both of which immediately announced plans to retaliate with tariffs on US imports. The Dow ended the day down 670 points, or 1.5%. The Nasdaq fell 0.3% and the S&P 500 fell 1.2%.