Verona Congressional Candidate Blames Trump For Dow Jones Drop

VERONA, NJ — The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted nearly 1,200 points on Monday, causing worries that it may affect billions of dollars-worth of pensions, retirement funds and nest eggs for families in New Jersey and the United States.

And it’s no accident that these losses come under President Trump, according to Verona businesswoman Tamara Harris.

Harris, a Democrat contender for U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen’s soon-to-be-vacant seat in New Jersey’s 11th District, issued a statement on Monday evening after the Dow Jones average went on a wild, rollercoaster ride for the second straight day.

The slump began on Friday when the Dow tumbled by more than 650 points, handing the market its worst week in two years.

• See related article: Dow Jones Tumbles Nearly 1,200 Points — Largest Point Drop Ever

According to Harris:

“[Monday’s] sell-off brings the record losses for American investors, retirees and workers into a second straight week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the leading indicator of stock performance on the New York Stock Exchange, has lost more than four percent of its value in that short period of time. That means billions of dollars have evaporated from pensions for seniors, nest eggs for young couples, and the retirement accounts of working New Jerseyans. It means the hard work required of everyday Americans to invest in and secure their futures just got harder.”

Harris continued:

“It is no accident that these losses come under a president who seems more concerned with using petty grievances to promote division, than with crafting policies designed to continue the long economic expansion that began in 2009 under President Barack Obama. President Trump’s regressive tax cuts and his attempts to de-regulate big business and the financial sector at the expense of the American middle class and small businesses is clearly backfiring. I believe voters in the NJ-11th want to change course and opt for new leadership that will stand up to President Trump and support policies that work in their best interests.”

• See related article: Verona Businesswoman To Challenge Frelinghuysen In 2018

Trump said nothing of the recent Dow Jones drop during his economic speech on Monday near Cincinnati and ignored questions shouted at him as he returned to the White House. However, his chief spokesperson, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, later offered the following statement:

“The President's focus is on our long-term economic fundamentals, which remain exceptionally strong, with strengthening U.S. economic growth, historically low unemployment, and increasing wages for American workers… The President's tax cuts and regulatory reforms will further enhance the U.S. economy and continue to increase prosperity for the American people."

• See related article: Trump Uncharacteristically Mum On Stock Market As It Tumbles

In the past, Trump has taken credit for stock market gains. For example, he posted the following Tweet last summer after a bullish series of gains:

“Highest Stock Market EVER, best economic numbers in years, unemployment lowest in 17 years, wages raising, border secure, S.C.: No WH chaos!”

The extent to which any president deserves credit for stock market rises – or falls - is up for debate, however. According to a recent report in The Atlantic:

“Presidents, in general, do not have much control over the behavior of the markets. They help construct broad economic guidance, which can, in turn, shape how confident companies and investors are about their ability to turn a profit—sending the stock market up or down. But those changes are hard to directly attribute to his actions—that is unless the president says or does something especially extreme.”

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Caption: A financial professional works on a quiet Friday afternoon floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the end of the trading day at the July 24, 2009 in New York City.

File Photo: Chris Hondros / GettyImages