TLDR
- A fake news story about Trump considering a 90-day tariff pause caused markets to surge temporarily, adding $2.4 trillion in value
- The rumor originated from a misinterpretation of Kevin Hassett’s Fox News interview and was spread by the “Walter Bloomberg” X account
- Major media outlets including CNBC and Reuters amplified the false story before the White House issued a denial
- Markets quickly reversed gains after the denial, experiencing the most volatile intraday swing since March 2020
- Trump later threatened China with additional 50% tariffs if they didn’t withdraw their 34% increase
A false rumor about US President Donald Trump considering a 90-day pause on tariffs caused an extraordinary market swing on Monday, temporarily adding $2.4 trillion in market value before erasing those gains within minutes after an official White House denial.
The misleading headline first appeared on social media around 10:10 am New York time and read: “HASSETT: TRUMP IS CONSIDERING A 90-DAY PAUSE IN TARIFFS FOR ALL COUNTRIES EXCEPT CHINA.” This was an apparent reference to White House Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett.
The fake news sparked a rapid market rally before being debunked by the White House. The entire episode unfolded within about 30 minutes but showcased how quickly market sentiment can shift based on trade policy expectations.
KILMEADE: Would Trump consider a 90 days pause in tariffs?
HASSETT: I think the president is gonna decide what the president is gonna decide … even if you think there will be some negative effect from the trade side, that’s still a small share of GDP pic.twitter.com/3KymvgOwQG
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 7, 2025
How the Rumor Spread
The false information gained traction after being posted by the verified “Walter Bloomberg” X account, which has 852,000 followers but is not affiliated with Bloomberg News. The account later explained it had sourced the information from another post by T3 Trading Group, LLC.
“I couldn’t find anything on the main wires at the time. After a quick search on X, I traced the headline to a post by T3 Trading Group, LLC,” the account told The Wall Street Journal. “Given the market movement (+4.5%), I deemed the headline reliable and posted it at 10:13.”
The rumor quickly spread to mainstream media. CNBC aired the claim live as a banner on screen, and Reuters republished the information citing CNBC. CNBC later admitted an internal misunderstanding led to the information being displayed without proper verification.
The White House “Rapid Response” account quickly posted on X that this was fake news. “The White House is not considering a 90-day tariff pause. This is an unsubstantiated rumor, which has been rejected by the Trump administration,” the official statement read.
That fake headline might actually give Trump, Navarro and Lutnick more confidence to keep pushing this further…
They now know that at any point they can announce a pause and the market will rally ~10% in a single day.
— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) April 7, 2025
Market Impact and Reaction
The market response was dramatic. The S&P 500 reversed early losses of 4.7% to gain 3.4% in just 10 minutes. The Nasdaq added 9.5% in less than an hour, and the Dow Jones jumped 7%.
Bitcoin also experienced a sharp price movement, jumping 6.5% to briefly top $80,000 before falling back after the denial.
By 10:41 am, after the White House denial, markets sharply declined, wiping out $2.5 trillion in market value within 23 minutes. The S&P 500 ultimately ended the day down just 0.2%, but not before experiencing its most volatile intraday swing since March 2020.
Crypto YouTuber Lark Davis noted that the episode revealed key insights about current market sentiment. “The market is ready to accept prolonged China negotiations as long as most deals can be resolved,” he said, adding that “the market is ready to ape, even a lame 90-day delay sent markets soaring.”
Stocks pumped 3 trillion on 90 day tariff pause fake news (the fake pause excluded China)
This reminds me of the fake btc etf news in 23 that then turned out to be true later
It also reveals some critical things about the market
1 market is ready to accept prolonged China…— Lark Davis (@TheCryptoLark) April 7, 2025
“Now imagine what happens when dozens of deals are made with top players like India, Canada, and the UK. Tons of money is on the sidelines, ready to jump in at a moment’s notice,” Davis continued.
X user Geiger Capital commented: “That fake headline might actually give Trump, Navarro, and Lutnick more confidence to keep pushing this further. They now know that at any point they can announce a pause and the market will rally ~10% in a single day.”
What Actually Happened
The misunderstanding stemmed from a Fox News interview with Kevin Hassett. When asked if Trump would consider a 90-day pause on tariffs, Hassett gave a non-committal response: “I think the president is gonna decide what the president is gonna decide,” adding: “Even if you think there will be some negative effect from the trade side, that’s still a small share of GDP.”
Hassett defended Trump’s reciprocal tariff plans, arguing that while tariffs would cause “short-term pain” for consumers, the US would benefit in the long term. He mentioned that more than 50 countries had already approached the US to begin trade talks.
Shortly after the 90-day tariff pause post was deleted, Trump took to his own social media platform, Truth Social, to threaten China with even more tariffs.
“If China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long-term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, the United States will impose additional tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th,” Trump stated.
