"Going Very Well!" Trump Cheers as Markets Suffer Historic Tariff-Induced Crash

Let's set the scene: It's late last week. President Trump has just unleashed his sweeping new tariffs – a 10% baseline tax on practically everything imported, plus hefty extra duties on dozens of countries. The reaction in the financial world isn't just negative; it's catastrophic. We're talking a "COVID-like shock" ripping through global markets, according to AP News. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted over 1,600 points at its worst on Thursday, the S&P 500 bled over 4%, wiping out trillions in value, and international markets from Hong Kong to Tokyo followed suit over the weekend with staggering drops. Analysts are warning of recession, inflation soaring near 5%, and US households facing thousands in extra costs. Panic is palpable.

So, what's the view from the Oval Office as this economic carnage unfolds, directly triggered by its own policy? Is it concern? Reassessment? Maybe a hint of "Uh oh"?

Nope. Prepare your jaw to hit the floor. As he departed the White House on Thursday amidst the historic market plunge, President Trump was asked for his reaction. His assessment? "I think it's going very well."

Let me repeat that. Billions, possibly trillions, vanishing from balance sheets, retirement accounts shrinking, global allies fuming, recession klaxons blaring... and the President thinks it's "going very well." He didn't stop there, offering an analogy that only deepens the WTF: "We have an operation, like when a patient gets operated on and it's a big thing. I said this would exactly be the way it is."

So, apparently, the US economy is just undergoing some major, painful surgery, and the ensuing screams and blood loss are... normal? Expected? Good, even? It's a level of spin that transcends mere optimism and enters the realm of surreal detachment from reality. He went on to predict that the markets, the stock market, and the country are all eventually "going to boom," brushing off the immediate crisis as a necessary evil.

This wasn't just a Thursday blip, either. Over the weekend, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while global markets continued to bleed, Trump doubled down. He dismissed the turmoil, saying sometimes you have to take "medicine" to fix things, blaming decades of past "stupid leadership" for forcing his hand. He even claimed foreign leaders were suddenly "dying to make a deal" (though the actual news seems to focus more on retaliatory tariffs and international anger). His Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, also hit the Sunday shows to downplay recession risks, insisting the administration is focused on "long-term economic fundamentals."

It’s hard to overstate the sheer, unadulterated WTF-ness of this response. The leader of the free world watches a financial crisis unfold – one directly sparked by his administration's actions – and essentially pats everyone on the head, says "There, there, it's just major surgery, it's supposed to hurt," and predicts sunshine and rainbows are just around the corner. It ignores the very real fear gripping investors, the warnings from economists, the potential pain for consumers, and the anger from global partners.

Who are you supposed to believe? The President cheerfully insisting that this economic self-immolation is all part of the master plan, or the brutal reality reflected in plunging market indices and panicked headlines? As of Monday, April 7th, 2025, the administration seems firmly planted in its own alternate economic universe, leaving the rest of us down here wondering if the "medicine" might be worse than the disease. This isn't just spin; it's a full-blown reality distortion field, and it’s today’s absolute peak Daily Dose of WTF.

Sources:

• AP News (Reporting on Trump's "going very well" quote, surgery analogy from Thursday, April 3rd/4th, 2025; background on market drops)

• Al Jazeera (Reporting on Trump's weekend "medicine" quote, blaming past leaders, and Treasury Secretary Bessent's comments amidst market freefall, April 7, 2025)