So, did Donald Trump destroy the stock market for nothing?

Trump blinked. Faced with a collapsing stock market, trillions of dollars of losses, furious international allies, and growing unease even among Republicans, he was forced to put a 90-day pause on his tariff plans, which may now never go ahead.

Though the White House is doing its best to spin this as a master 4D chess move they had planned all along, this is an unambiguously humiliating U-turn for Trump. Theoretically, the plan was that his tariffs would represent a nuclear bomb detonating in the financial markets, with a proud Trump-led United States rising from the rubble to enjoy economic stability.

Trump blinked after costing Americans trillions of dollars of wealth and credibility.

So much winning! pic.twitter.com/VAFbnJLq0q

— Chris D. Jackson (@ChrisDJackson) April 9, 2025

It didn’t work out like that. The nuke the markets part of the plan went swimmingly, obliterating trillions of dollars of value from American companies and investors. But, as the hours and days ticked by, it became apparent that even if there ever was a chance of that happening, the damage to America’s financial infrastructure was too great to be tolerated.

Despite the White House’s bluster and confidence, there will have been panicked scenes in the Oval Office as trusted advisors tried to explain to a stubborn and annoyed Donald Trump that the tariffs were cratering the economy, that Republicans would face electoral wipe-out, and that voters would blame him directly for their many incoming woes. And, eventually, Trump must have caved.

Making matters worse was China refusing to bend the knee. Despite now being slapped with an incredible 125% tariff on all products imported into the United States, they stayed true to their vow to “fight until the end”, slapping 84% reciprocal tariffs on American imports to China.

Trump humiliated himself and the rest of the US Infront of the world. China won.

— Anonymous (@YourAnonCentral) April 9, 2025

As China is the United States’ biggest trading partner, this effectively means Americans will still get most of the pain of the tariffs, but the national now looks a lot weaker internationally. Meanwhile, China, America’s biggest ally, appears to be holding most of the cards, particularly as Apple and Tesla rely on Chinese factories and components.

So yeah, Donald Trump did pretty much destroy the stock market for nothing. If he had stuck to his guns and pursued the tariffs, at least we could say he was being true to his principles, showing confidence in his political plan, and maybe he could have bullied other countries into accepting lopsided deals. Now he simply looks weak, and the situation is more chaotic than before. If he tries the same tactics again, it’s safe to say the rest of the world will just have to calmly wait for him to pull yet another crushingly cringe U-turn.