Connect with us

News

‘Pump and Dump’: Market Manipulation Questions Swirl Over Trump Tariff Pause

Published

on

After one of the best days on Wall Street since World War II, fueled by President Donald Trump and his team’s conflicting messages and actions on tariffs, questions are swirling over possible insider trading, market manipulation, and “pump and dump” schemes.

President Trump’s announcement that he is pausing most of the increased tariffs that went into effect at midnight was met with glee by investors but with questions by critics who note that the President, just minutes after the markets opened Wednesday morning, had declared it a “great time to buy.” Less than four hours later, upon news breaking of his “pause” announcement, stock prices surged.

The Dow closed up almost 3000 points, and the S&P 500 surged 9.5 percent, its biggest increase since 2008.

Some critics say the optics are even worse given that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, following the President’s market-shaking “pause” announcement, reportedly told reporters it had been the plan all along.

READ MORE: ‘No Plan’: Trump Ripped for ‘Lurching’ Strategy After Surprise Tariff Reversal

“Is this market manipulation?” asked U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV), in a hearing Thursday afternoon, questioning Trump Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

“No,” Greer replied.

“Why not? If it was a plan, if it was always a plan, how is this not market manipulation?” Horsford insisted, appearing to refer to Secretary Bessent’s prior remarks.

“It’s not market manipulation, sir,” Greer added.

“Well, then what is it?” an angered Horsford demanded. “‘Cause it sure is not a strategy.”

“We’re trying to reset the global trade system,” Greer continued.

“What has that done?” Horsford interjected. “How have you achieved any of that? But to enact enormous harm on the American people, which was our concern from the very beginning, Tariffs are a tool. It can be used in the appropriate way to protect U.S. jobs and small businesses. But that’s not what this does. So, if it’s not market manipulation, what is it? Who’s benefiting? What billionaire just got richer?”

“But meanwhile, the Speaker is rushing to the floor to pass a budget reconciliation to screw America by passing the biggest tax cut in history — on the backs of the American people? W.T.F.! Who’s in charge? Because it’s sure doesn’t look like it’s the trade representative. You just got the rug pulled out from under you.”

Journalist Ahmed Eldin writes, “Trump tells followers to buy when market opens, then hours later, he pauses tariffs — stocks surge. Totally normal! Just your average day of legal-ish insider trading and market manipulation. Corruption is trading at an all-time high.”

Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) announced that he will be “writing to the White House to demand who knew in advance that the president was once again going to flip flop on tariffs —and are people cashing in?”

“There is just all too much opportunity for people in the White House and the administration to be insider trading and you can’t put it past them for a minute,” he said. “I think Congress should do an investigation into this, but we’re gonna demand answers from the administration.”

READ MORE: Noem Slammed for Pointing Assault Rifle at Law Enforcement Officer

“This will come out,” Schiff vowed, “but an administration that has their own meme coins and has already engaged in self interested dealing with Elon is ‘DOGEing’ agencies that are doing oversight in his own businesses, and that kind of corrupt climate, you have to assume the worst, and we’re gonna try to find out.”

Attorney Jackie Singh, a cybersecurity, privacy, and cybercrime expert, posted a CNBC screenshot with the headline: “White House insists Trump’s tariff reversal was his strategy all along.”

“Yes,” she writes, “pump & dump schemes were previously an exclusive realm of fraudsters, and considered prosecutable criminal activity–Now neatly employed by the President of the United States (also a fraudster).”

Political strategist Chris D. Jackson writes, “So he caved after he said he wouldn’t. Was this all a big market manipulation scheme?”

International security analyst Matthew VanDyke insisted the Trump administration “is going to be investigated for market manipulation.”

“Somebody just made BILLIONS off this tariff-based manipulation of the markets,” noted attorney Tristan Snell, who prosecuted the Trump University case for the State of New York. “And it wasn’t any of us.”

“Historian here,” writes Professor of history Manisha Sinha, “while they are tanking the U.S. economy the White House and Trumps cronies are making millions from market manipulation and speculation.”

SiriusXM host John Fugelsang wrote: “This isn’t The Art of the Deal. It’s insider trading with a bad comb-over.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Dangerous’ New Trump Drug Tariffs Would Lead to Shortages, Soaring Costs, Death: Critics

 

Image via Reuters

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment
 
 

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.

NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

News

Trump Blames Ukraine: ‘You Don’t Take on a Nation That’s Ten Times Your Size’

Published

2 hours ago

on

August 19, 2025

By

President Donald Trump is blaming Ukraine for being attacked by Russia in President Vladimir Putin’s illegal war against the sovereign nation.

In a rambling and wide-ranging “Fox & Friends” interview on Tuesday, the President covered a lot of ground, including declaring that it would be unfair to Russia to allow Ukraine to become a part of NATO.

“It can’t be NATO because that’s just not something that would ever ever happen. He couldn’t. They couldn’t do that. If you were Russia, who would want to have your enemy, your opponent, sitting on your line? You don’t do that,” Trump said.

Trump then falsely claimed, “It was always thought that Ukraine was a, sort of a buffer between Russia and the rest of Europe — and it was, it was a big, wide buffer — everything worked out well until Biden got involved.”

READ MORE: ‘Exit Through a Gift Shop’: Trump Slammed for Showcasing MAGA Merchandise to World Leaders

Ukraine was promised future entry into NATO at an undetermined date, back in 2008. Finland borders Russia and is a member of NATO. Trump also did not say why there needed to be a “buffer” between Russia and Europe.

Trump also expressed that, he believes, Ukraine will have to give up land to Russia.

Asked what the European leaders thought about “land swaps,” which may or may not include Russia giving back land it took illegally, but no actual Russian land, Trump replied: “While they understand — look, everybody can play cute and this and that, but, you know, Ukraine’s gonna get their life back.”

“They’re gonna stop having people killed all over the place, and they’re gonna get a lot of land,” he claimed, not mentioning that that land belongs to Ukraine.

Then he accused Ukraine of attacking Russia, and suggested they were the provocateur.

“But this was a war, and Russia is a powerful military nation, you know, whether people like it or not, it’s a powerful nation,” Trump said. “It’s a much bigger nation.”

“It’s not a war that should have been started. You don’t do that. You don’t take on a nation that’s ten times your size and you know, military experts — look, look, here, if it wasn’t for the greatest military equipment. We make the greatest military equipment in the world, and we gave them— So, you know, whatever they took — probably a lot of money, too — but they had tremendous, you know, they had the Patriot missile, which is the best in the world.”

READ MORE: Trump Pushes Mail-In Ballot Ban While Zelenskyy Waits

“All the equipment, we make the best equipment in the world by far. Everyone else is like, nothing. So we gave them a lot of equipment. Now, with that said, the Ukrainian soldiers were brave as hell. Cause’s fighting a force that’s much, much bigger. Superior, much more powerful.”

Critics denounced Trump’s claims.

“For the umpteenth time, Trump blames Ukraine for starting the war. Trump can never be trusted. He works for Putin,” wrote podcaster and former GOP congressman Joe Walsh.

“Really crystallizesTrump’s world view that bigger nations can bully smaller ones just because they can,” wrote communications expert Eric Koch.

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Lies’: In Rant, Trump Falsely Claims States Are Mere ‘Agents’ of Federal Government

 

Image via Reuters

Continue Reading

News

‘Exit Through a Gift Shop’: Trump Slammed for Showcasing MAGA Merchandise to World Leaders

Published

4 hours ago

on

August 19, 2025

By

President Donald Trump is being mocked after a White House aide posted a photo of him showing off his collection of MAGA merchandise to several world leaders inside an area of the White House that appears to be set up like a gift shop.

Leaders from France, Italy, the UK, Germany, and Finland, along with the Secretary General of NATO and the European Commission President attended a White House meeting on Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an effort to broker a peace deal over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s illegal war. Trump had snubbed the European leaders’ arrival but later met with them.

Some estimates say up to 350,000 troops have been killed since Putin attacked Ukraine in February of 2022. The number of Ukrainian civilians killed has been estimated to be over 13,000, with tens of thousands wounded and missing.

READ MORE: Trump Pushes Mail-In Ballot Ban While Zelenskyy Waits

“According to the British Ministry of Defence, more than one million Russian troops have been killed or injured since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022,” The Guardian reported in June. “Ukraine has suffered very high losses as well, with between 60,000 and 100,000 personnel killed and total casualties reaching approximately 400,000.”

Some estimates put the number of Ukrainian children kidnapped and taken to Russia to be in the hundreds of thousands. Others put the number at about 35,000.

The shelves of the White House’s MAGA merchandise area appear lined with dozens of hats — thirteen different styles — including ones that read “Trump 2028,” “Gulf of America,” and his iconic “Make America Great Again” and “USA.” There are also towels, several coffee table books, a candle, an engraved tray, and other gift-like items.

Margo Martin, a Special Assistant to the President and Communications Advisor, from her official White House account, posted the photo (below) and wrote: “President @realDonaldTrump showing President Zelenskyy and President Macron his 4 More Years hat 🤣🇺🇸”

In the photo, President Macron can be seen holding a small wooden box.

Presumably Trump is not selling any of his MAGA merchandise inside the White House, which is on federal property and governed by rules including the Hatch Act. While Presidents are excluded from that law, White House officials are not.

Critics blasted the President.

READ MORE: ‘Don’t Be Surprised’: George Conway Says Trump Might Pull Out of NATO ‘Tonight’

“Imagine, your country is being bombed, your people killed, and not only does this man want to show you his hats, his staff thinks everyone should hear that he showed you his hats,” wrote former journalist Travis Fain.

“Unserious and embarrassing” declared South Dakota Democratic state lawmaker Linda Duba.

“It is against the constitution to run for a 3rd term,” wrote CBS News’ Ryan Sprouse, before citing the Twenty-Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Foreign affairs journalist Olga Nesterova wrote: “Exit through a gift shop.”

One social media user lamented: “I hope everyone realizes that this photo will be seen across the globe. Our ignorant President is a laughing stock. So is our country.”

See the White House image below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Lies’: In Rant, Trump Falsely Claims States Are Mere ‘Agents’ of Federal Government

 

Image via Reuters

 

 

Continue Reading

News

Trump Pushes Mail-In Ballot Ban While Zelenskyy Waits

Published

22 hours ago

on

August 18, 2025

By

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled from Kyiv to Washington, D.C. on Monday in hopes of ending Russian President Vladimir Putin’s illegal war against his country, but critics charge what he got instead was a “show” and a “charade” by an unserious American president who was falsely babbling about skyrocketing attendance at D.C. restaurants, blaming President Joe Biden for the war, and ranting about mail-in voting.

Some wondered why the talks between the White House and President Zelenskyy started with a press conference, when nothing had yet been debated or decided.

On Monday morning, in a lengthy rant on his Truth Social website, President Trump declared war on mail-in voting — just days after he had claimed that President Putin, on Friday, “said you can’t have an honest election with mail-in voting.”

READ MORE: Trump Snubs Seven Top European Leaders After Rolling Out Red Carpet for Putin

During the press event, Trump continued his attacks on mail-in voting, which exists in many countries around the world, including in Europe and Russia.

“Mail-in ballots are corrupt,” Trump told reporters, despite the President of Ukraine sitting next to him waiting, and wanting to end the war. “Mail-in ballots, you can never have a real democracy with mail-in ballots.”

He promised “an executive order that’s being written right now by the best lawyers in the country to end mail-in ballots because they’re corrupt and do you know that we’re the only country in the world, I believe, I may be wrong, but just about the only country in the world that uses them because of what’s happened: massive fraud all over the place.”

The president’s characterizations of mail-in voting are incorrect, according to studies and experts.

Trump went on about watermarked paper ballots being better, he claimed, and about his desire to get rid on voting machines — while claiming paper ballots deliver results faster.

READ MORE: ‘Don’t Be Surprised’: George Conway Says Trump Might Pull Out of NATO ‘Tonight’

“It’s time that the Republicans get tough and stop it, because the Democrats want it, it’s the only way they can get elected , because with men and women’s sports and with transgender for everybody and open borders and all of the horrible things and now the new thing is, they love crime,” Trump declared.

The discussion about mail-in voting did not end there.

Trump appeared to say that Democrats want mail-in voting but won’t get elected if it is in place.

“I think we got to stop mail-in voting, and the Republicans have to lead the charge. The Democrats want it because they have horrible policies. If you have mail-in voting, you’re not gonna have many Democrats get elected. That’s bigger than anything having to do with redistricting, believe me,” Trump said.

Watch the videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Lies’: In Rant, Trump Falsely Claims States Are Mere ‘Agents’ of Federal Government

 

Image via Reuters

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2020 AlterNet Media.