The Trump Election Bump Is Over. Tariffs Were the Fatal Blow.

By Paul R. La Monica
Updated March 05, 2025, 10:51 am EST / Original March 04, 2025, 2:26 pm EST

The Trump administration’s Election Day bump for the stock market is history. The S&P 500 has erased all of its meteoric gains notched since Nov. 5.

Hopes for deregulation, tax cuts, and other fiscal stimulus from President Donald Trump have been replaced by fears that his tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China will ignite a full-blown trade war. That outcome would most certainly hurt consumers and corporate profits—and revive the economic threat of inflation.

That’s why Wall Street is suddenly worried again, instead of excited about Republicans controlling the White House and Congress. There is little sign of the so-called Trump put—the expectation that he will do what he can to keep the stock market happy.

Instead, Tuesday offered a broad-based, though volatile, selloff after Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico went into effect.

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