Leftist Journalist Doubles Down on Attacking Trump Over Stock Market Chaos, Shapiro Sets Him Straight
Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro set leftist reporter Aaron Rupar straight after he appeared to celebrate the stock market falling below the level it was at when President Donald Trump took office.
Rupar — an associate editor at the left-leaning publication Vox and a frequent Trump critic — tweeted on Wednesday, “The Dow is now below 19,800 — meaning it has dropped since Trump took office. All of his gains are gone and then some.”
Shapiro replied, “They are not ‘his gains.’ They are ‘our gains,’ since we’re the ones who own stock. And our loss is not his fault any more than the global pandemic is. Anyone who thinks Trump is the true underlying problem here is a moron.”
They are not “his gains.” They are “our gains,” since we’re the ones who own stock. And our loss is not his fault any more than the global pandemic is. Anyone who thinks Trump is the true underlying problem here is a moron. https://t.co/q4EItnC3Kg
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 18, 2020
Andrew Follett, a senior policy analyst with the Club for Growth, urged Rupar to “stop cheering,” considering the fact that many Americans have been impacted by the stock market’s decline.
“Trump doesn’t own all investments…we the people do,” Follett tweeted. “Please stop cheering that a lot of people lost their retirements because Orange Man Bad.”
Rupar replied to Follett’s tweet, claiming that he was not rooting for the market’s demise.
Instead, he said he was simply pointing out that Trump, having celebrated the new heights that stocks reached while he has been in office, must now take ownership for their decline.
I’m noting the state of the stock market, not rooting for it to fall. Trump has incessantly taken credit for gains — even when it’s not deserved — and the bill for that is due now. There’s a reason previous presidents haven’t tied their fortunes to the rises & falls of the Dow. https://t.co/DvEXcnt33T
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 18, 2020
“I’m noting the state of the stock market, not rooting for it to fall,” Rupar wrote. “Trump has incessantly taken credit for gains — even when it’s not deserved — and the bill for that is due now. There’s a reason previous presidents haven’t tied their fortunes to the rises & falls of the Dow.”
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman — who famously predicted on election night in 2016 the global economy would tank thanks to Trump’s election — also seemed to celebrate the stock market’s decline.
“The stock market is not the economy, and presidents not responsible for either in most circumstances — although delaying a pandemic response affects both. But Trump likes to measure himself by the markets, so here’s his presidency to date,” Krugman tweeted.
The stock market is not the economy, and presidents not responsible for either in most circumstances — although delaying a pandemic response affects both. But Trump likes to measure himself by the markets, so here’s his presidency to date pic.twitter.com/IUV8n4CoSR
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) March 18, 2020
Trump countered Krugman and other media outlets’ messaging regarding his administration’s coronavirus response, tweeting on Wednesday, “I always treated the Chinese Virus very seriously, and have done a very good job from the beginning, including my very early decision to close the ‘borders’ from China – against the wishes of almost all.”
I always treated the Chinese Virus very seriously, and have done a very good job from the beginning, including my very early decision to close the “borders” from China – against the wishes of almost all. Many lives were saved. The Fake News new narrative is disgraceful & false!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2020
“Many lives were saved,” he added. “The Fake News new narrative is disgraceful & false!”
On the economic impact front, the president promised that for those who are out of work because of the coronavirus containment policies, “money will soon be coming to you.”
For the people that are now out of work because of the important and necessary containment policies, for instance the shutting down of hotels, bars and restaurants, money will soon be coming to you. The onslaught of the Chinese Virus is not your fault! Will be stronger than ever!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2020
Trump is working with Congress on a roughly $1 trillion funding package to address the damage to the economy caused by the coronavirus.
The package could include payments to small businesses, loans for the airline and hotel industries and a stimulus package for workers, NPR reported.
In a news briefing on Tuesday, Trump predicted the economy will “pop” back when the coronavirus outbreak ends.
“One day we’ll be standing possibly up here, we’ll say, ‘Well, we won,’” the president said. “As sure as you’re sitting there, we’re going to say that.
“I think we’re going to win faster than people think, I hope.”
Of course, we witnessed on both Friday and Tuesday how quickly the stock market can spring back in 1,000 point-plus increments.
No doubt, Rupar and Krugman will be crying crocodile tears when the market rebounds from the coronavirus outbreak, as it inevitably will.
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