A rumor of a 90-day pause on Trump’s sweeping tariffs triggered chaos across Wall Street Monday—before the White House slammed the story as false and reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to its economic warpath.
The wild sequence began early Monday morning when a now-deleted blog post from a little-known political site claimed that President Donald Trump would announce a 90-day suspension of his new import tariffs to ease investor panic. The report spread quickly through Telegram channels and X (formerly Twitter), sparking a swift, euphoric market rally.
The S&P 500 briefly surged nearly 2% in under 15 minutes, recovering from some of last week’s record losses, while the Nasdaq jumped over 250 points. But the joy was short-lived.
White House: “It’s Fake News—We’re Not Pausing Anything”
Within the hour, the White House press office issued a sharp denial, calling the rumor “100% fake news” and stating:
“There is no 90-day tariff pause, nor any plans to suspend or delay any measures. The president’s policy remains unchanged.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick doubled down on Face the Nation Sunday, saying the new tariffs are “definitely going to stay in place for days and weeks” and that this is a “reset of global trade.” Monday’s rumor, the White House added, “did not come from any official or unofficial source” connected to the administration.
Investors Slammed by Volatility
The reversal sent the markets into a tailspin by midday. The S&P 500 erased its early gains and tumbled another 1.4%, while tech stocks once again led declines. Tesla, Nvidia, and Apple all swung more than 5% intraday, with trading halts triggered on several high-volume ETFs.
“It’s pure volatility driven by rumor and panic,” said Torsten Slok of Apollo Global. “Traders are desperately looking for signs of a pivot, but this White House isn’t blinking.”
Some analysts suspect the rumor may have been deliberately planted to trigger a “short squeeze” on the heavily shorted tech sector—though no proof of manipulation has surfaced.
Trump: “No Pauses. Only Wins.”
President Trump appeared to comment indirectly on the confusion via Truth Social, writing Monday afternoon:
“THE TARIFFS ARE THE LAW. NO PAUSES. ONLY WINS. DON’T LISTEN TO THE GLOBALIST LIES.”
Trump’s latest trade war covers over $2 trillion in global imports, with tariffs between 10% and 50% already in motion and retaliation mounting by the hour—from China’s 34% countermeasures to the EU’s pending $28 billion response.
Markets remain on edge as Trump’s global tariff regime reshapes the economy in real time. Monday’s false flag was a sharp reminder: in this environment, even a rumor can move trillions—until it crashes right back down.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
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