President Donald Trump sought to shift blame as Wall Street reacted sharply to news that the U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter of 2025 — the first such decline in three years. Trump dismissed concerns that his own policies, including tariffs and trade tensions, played a role, instead pointing to what he called the Biden “Overhang” as the true cause.
During the 2024 campaign, Trump frequently attributed the stock market’s gains under then-President Joe Biden to investors anticipating his return to office. But now, both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 are experiencing their weakest early-term performance since 1973.
At a Cabinet meeting earlier today, responding to a question from The Independent, Trump appeared to preemptively lay blame on Biden for potentially weak economic figures in the next quarter as well.
Speaking at a rally in Michigan on Tuesday to mark his 100th day back in the White House, Trump declared that “nothing will stop me” while celebrating his assertive use of executive authority to reshape federal institutions.
That same day, tensions flared during a televised interview with ABC News’ Terry Moran, where Trump clashed with the reporter and accused him of “not being very nice.”
