Trump urges supporters not to panic, threatens 50% tariff on China

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Apr 7, 2025

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President Donald Trump Monday urged his supporters to stand firm and back his plan for sweeping tariffs amid a full-blown market meltdown and fears they could spark a recession.

As some of his backers and Republican lawmakers called for an urgent rethink, Trump signaled he has no intention of softening his stance.

“Don’t be weak! Don’t be stupid! Don’t be a PANICAN (A new party based on weak and stupid people!),” Trump posted on his social media site. “Be strong, courageous, and patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!”

Trump later squelched hopes of a market rebound by vowing to raise tariffs on imports from China by an additional 50%, exactly the type of tit-for-tat trade war economists warned about.

He also warned that negotiations with China would be scrapped, pouring cold water on market hopes for a walk back.

Trump didn’t name individual lawmakers or prominent conservative figures in the post, which hit just minutes before Wall Street opened with another major drop.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average extended the market carnage, plunging another 4% in the minutes after the opening bell, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ taking an even bigger hit.

Stocks did start to bounce back later in the morning but resumed their nose dive after Trump threatened new action against China.

Markets dropped nearly 15% in just three trading days since Trump imposed the massive import taxes last week on what he branded as “Liberation Day.”

Investor Bill Ackman, who strongly supported Trump during the 2024 election, tweeted that the tariffs amount to a shocking mistake that could plunge the nation into an economic “nuclear winter.”

“The president is losing the confidence of business leaders around the globe. The consequences for our country and the millions of our citizens who have supported the president … are going to be severely negative,” he wrote.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who considers himself a potential Republican 2028 presidential candidate, has warned the crushing impact on consumers could cause a recession and a “bloodbath” for the GOP in the midterm elections.

A handful of Republican lawmakers in both the House and Senate have joined Democrats in calling for legislative action to claw back the power to impose tariffs from the White House.

But most Capitol Hill insiders still consider it unlikely that Republicans congressional leaders will permit any widespread revolt against Trump’s policies to gain traction.