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As a presidential candidate, Donald J. Trump promised that the economy is “not like everyone else.”
But Mr. Trump’s refusal to rule out the recession after eight weeks as president has changed dramatically to a man’s tone and message, a man who promises to “make America affordable again”, a general dissatisfaction with the White House.
His comments were made with the flow of stock markets – the S&P 500 fell 2.7% after falling 3.1% last week – and business leaders were shocked by the uncertainty of his tariffs. Even if some Republicans fear going past Mr. Trump, they began to raise concerns about his taxes.
This moment captures the fundamental challenge of Mr. Trump, a performer who makes absolute and broad promises that inevitably fall into the reality of domination.
Mr. Trump inherited the economy in good shape, its solid shape, low unemployment, moderate growth and inflation remained higher than the Fed wanted, but a sharp drop. But the uncertainty of his policy injecting prospects contrasts sharply with the photos Mr. Trump painted on the campaign.
“We will start a new era of soaring,” Trump said at a rally in October. “Soaring wealth. Millions of new jobs and a booming middle class. We will thrive as much as we have never flourished before.”
At least in the case of the president’s favorite economic tool: tariffs, at least for now, the vows to create economic prosperity have clashed. He also assured people during his campaign that, as economists have warned, they are the main drivers of the country’s cloudy economic outlook. JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs forecasts say there is a greater possibility of a recession next year due to Trump’s tariffs.
So far, the president appears to be trying to lower expectations. In an interview aired on Fox News on Sunday, Mr. Trump was asked by Maria Bartiromo if he expects a recession this year.
“I hate to predict things like this,” he said. “There was a transition for a while because we were doing a lot. We brought wealth back to the United States. That was a big thing. And there were always some periods, it took a little time. It took a little time, but I think it should be great for us.”
Trump acknowledged in a speech at a joint meeting of Congress last week that tariffs would cause “some disturbance.” But he said: “We’re happy with that. Not too much.”
Even as the market sinks, world leaders uprising and business leaders speak out, Mr. Trump has made it clear that he has no plans to change his tariff strategy. Last week, he imposed extensive tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China and vowed to raise them further next month. But Mr. Trump prefers a whim position, he has turned some tariffs around and can do so again.
“Look, our country has been deprived for decades and we will no longer be deprived,” Mr. Trump said on Fox News.
Mr. Trump rang the stock market in December’s opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange. During his first semester, he regularly pointed out a booming stock market to prove his success. Many business leaders gathered behind Mr. Trump’s campaign because they believed he would prioritize his economic interests, but now some CEOs and small business owners complain about the economic pain his tariffs would bring. The president may hear these concerns directly when he meets with business members on Tuesday.
White House officials tried to redirect the conversation Monday as stocks’ worst day since December.
“Industry leaders have responded to President Trump’s first U.S. tariffs, deregulation and U.S. energy economic agenda and will create thousands of new jobs with trillions of dollars in investment commitments,” White House spokesman Kushes Desai said in a statement. “President Trump has completed historic work, wages and investment growth in his first term and will do so again in his second term.”
In recent days, Mr. Trump’s top advisers have tried to assure market and business leaders. Walbur Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday there was “no chance” of the recession. Finance Minister Scott Bessent is not so determined, saying on Friday that “natural adjustments” will be made as the economy experiences a “detox period” that relies on government spending.
“The full media of the president and his agents show that they are under tremendous pressure from the people they listen to – stock markets, Republican lawmakers and business leaders,” said Kate Kalutkiewicz, senior managing director of consulting firm McLarty Associates.
Ms. Kalutkivic, who served on the National Economic Commission during Trump’s first term, said comments from the president and his aides suggested they did not intend to change the course in response to the increasing concern of the chorus.
Stephen Moore, an economist at the Heritage Foundation, was a former economic adviser to Mr. Trump, who said the president’s problem was the timing. Mr. Moore said Mr. Trump should wait until Congress passes tax cuts to impose tariffs.
“First, let’s thrive again, and then let’s talk about tariffs,” he said. “I think there needs to be some priority shift.”
Sen. Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, is a ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, said the Trump administration’s attitude toward the U.S. economy is “poison.”
“The chaos they create every day is basically an anchor point related to the U.S. economy and more and more workers are in the water,” he said in an interview. “We are trying to stop them.”
The question in Washington is how long Mr. Trump can tolerate the stock market decline and the negative media coverage that follows.
“I don’t know,” said Mr. Moore. “That’s a good question. I’m sure the president has been worried about the loss of the stock market for the past 10 days. We’re all.”
