Some say it isn't bragging if you can back it up. President Trump has often touted the stock market during his presidency, when it hit all-time record highs before the COVID-19 pandemic, and since it has recovered to pre-pandemic levels in recent months. But Trump has good reason to boast about the market performance. According to a Fox Business analysis, Trump has overseen the greatest growth in the stock market under any Republican president in history.
The S&P 500 has risen 65% since Election Day 2016, while the Nasdaq is up 128% since Trump's election. The only president with better growth during a four-year term was Bill Clinton during the dot-com boom of the late 1990s. The Dow Jones Industrial Average isn't doing too shabby, either, now only about 2.5% off its record high reached just before the pandemic struck.
The fact that a Democrat and Republican president have each overseen the largest market gains in history shows how little investors rely on politics, according to Derrick Kinney, financial adviser and CEO of Good Money Framework. "It's not the politics, it's the policies and the tone of the economy that often dictate how business-friendly the environment is, and how growth oriented the market may be," he tells KTRH.
When it comes to policy, Kinney admits Trump has been beneficial to Wall Street. "His focus on deregulation, and bringing a business-friendly environment to what was a volatile environment clearly paid off for businesses prior to COVID," he says.
Essentially, investors like Trump's 'Art of the Deal' mentality. "They will credit Trump for repealing the regulations, and for bringing to the forefront a negotiating mindset," says Kinney. "He has put together the tone of a deal-making environment, that for the most part will likely change how politics is done for the near future."