Wall Street Has Wild Swing As White House Refutes Social Media Post That Donald Trump May Pause Tariffs

Media coverage of Wall Street this morning focused on the quick drop in major indexes, following last week’s bruising losses due to Donald Trump‘s tariff announcement.

Then, shortly after 10 a.m. ET, the market skyrocketed into positive territory. “I think we can go with this headline. Apparently [Kevin] Hassett has been saying that Trump will consider a 90-day pause in tariffs on other countries except for China,” CNBC‘s Carl Quintanilla told viewers at 10:14 a.m. ET, as the market pointed upward. He was referring to comments allegedly made by Kevin Hassett, a top White Hosue economic adviser.

But the news was short-lived.

By 10:33 a.m. ET, CNBC’s Eamon Javers, reporting from the White House, told viewers that he talked to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and she said that it was “fake news” the administration was considering such a pause. A White House social media account also confirmed that it was “fake news.”

So what gives? The rumor appeared to have started from an account from Walter Bloomberg, who has a tendency to post breaking news headlines in all caps. But Bloomberg is not affiliated with Bloomberg News, the financial news service. He had posted on X, “HASSETT: TRUMP IS CONSIDERING A 90-DAY PAUSE IN TARIFFS FOR ALL COUNTRIES EXCEPT CHINA.” This morning on Fox News, Hassett was asked about a potential pause, and said, “The president is going to decide what the president is going to decide.” Bloomberg later deleted the X post and posted headlines about White House denials of a pause.

This certainly is not the first time that markets have reacted wildly to rumor and speculation. But the whole episode speaks to the volatility of the markets today — and perhaps a bit of wishful thinking.