A video clip of U.S. President Donald Trump openly boasting about enriching his billionaire friends is drawing outrage as the administration faces growing scrutiny for possible market manipulation and insider trading in the aftermath of his partial tariff pause. “He made two-and-a-half billion today,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Wednesday, just hours after announcing the pause, “and he made $900 million.” “That’s not bad,” the president added. Trump was referring to wealth gains that investor Charles Schwab and businessman Roger Penske—both billionaires—notched during a historic stock market rally sparked by the president’s decision to pump the brakes on massive tariffs he imposed on most countries across the globe. (Trump left in place a 10% universal tariff on imports.) The market surge added over $300 billion to the collective wealth of the world’s top billionaires in a matter of hours, according to Bloomberg. Shortly before announcing the tariff pause, Trump posted to his social media platform that it is a “great time to buy” stocks, prompting accusations of market manipulation. Watch the Oval Office video:
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“Donald Trump in a nutshell: doing everything he can to make the ultra-rich even richer,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote Thursday in response to the clip. “We need to find out if Trump’s tariff chaos was used as cover for insider trading.” Dean Baker, senior economist at the Center on Economic and Policy Research, wrote Thursday that it’s not yet clear whether Trump tipped off any of his ultra-rich associates about the partial tariff pause ahead of time. “But does anyone think that Trump would have any qualms about sharing such a secret?” Baker asked. “Does anyone think that the people around Trump would have any qualms about trading on the ultimate inside information? I leave that to your judgment.” On Thursday, a group of Democratic lawmakers led by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate “possible insider trading and market manipulation violations that took place between Sunday, April 6, 2025, when U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent visited President Trump at his Florida resort, and Wednesday, April 9, 2025, when the president announced the pausing of the tariffs—and whether such unlawful activities are ongoing.” “Insider trading by federal officials and their friends or family is not only a breach of trust of the American people, but erodes the integrity of government institutions and raises concerns about corruption and fairness in the political system,” the lawmakers wrote. “There should be zero tolerance for this kind of corruption in our society, let alone from those we entrust to lead us in the public sphere.” NOW READ: Trump is about to target something far more terrifying than tariffs
