The stock market has got to tune out Trump

May 18, 2026

Democracy Dies in Darkness

The volatility he provokes is bad for investors and bad for America.

May 18, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. EDT20 minutes ago

A faded red background with a grid and a red graph line going down. In front of that is a black and white image of Donald Trump shouting and to the right of him is an image of the Wall Street bull also in black and white.

(Illustration by Michelle Kondrich/The Washington Post; Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images; iStock)

Matthew Lynn is a financial columnist and author. He writes for the Daily Telegraph and the Spectator in London.

A Rose Garden announcement triggers panic on Wall Street; then a post on Truth Social sends stock prices soaring. A promise of upcoming news launches a market rally, which slumps when the actual news is delivered that evening. Anyone who follows the stock market is familiar with the phenomenon. In President Donald Trump’s second term — particularly its first few months — his abrupt announcements have driven the stock market in a way that past presidents’ moves have seldom done. And that’s troubling.