Trump Blames Oil War and Coronavirus ‘Fake News’ for Stock Market Plunge

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STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images
Charlie Spiering

President Donald Trump reacted to the stock market crash on Twitter Monday by criticizing the establishment media for fueling fears.

“Saudi Arabia and Russia are arguing over the price and flow of oil,” he wrote on Twitter. “That, and the Fake News, is the reason for the market drop!”

The price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia did have a big impact on the market, but the drop also further heightened fears of the effect of the coronavirus on the United States economy.

Russia refused to cut oil production to maintain oil prices, and Saudi Arabia responded by additionally slashing prices, causing oil markets to plunge sharply on Monday.

The stock market plunged seven percent on Monday, triggering a threshold that halted trading for 15 minutes.

Trump stated on Twitter that an oil price war would only help American consumers.

“Good for the consumer, gasoline prices coming down!” he wrote.

The president again tried to sway fears that the coronavirus will spread widely in America by comparing it to the common flu.

“So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year,” he wrote. “Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on.”

He pointed to the low rate of the coronavirus in the United States: 22 deaths.

“At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths,” he wrote. “Think about that!”

Ahead of attending fundraisers in Florida, Trump spent the morning praising the administration’s coronavirus task force and berating the media for heightening fears.

“The Fake News Media and their partner, the Democrat Party, is doing everything within its semi-considerable power (it used to be greater!) to inflame the CoronaVirus situation, far beyond what the facts would warrant,” he wrote:

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