JD Vance says he’s “feeling good” about the market chaos following President Trump’s tariff announcements because he thought “it could be worse.”
After Trump unveiled his sweeping “Liberation Day” tax plan, U.S. stocks lost about $3 trillion in market value Thursday—the largest one-day selloff since the COVID pandemic hit the U.S. in 2020. The selloff could yet get worse when the opening bell rings at the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.
According to the vice president, the administration sees no reason to worry.
“We’re feeling good. Look, I frankly thought in some ways it could be worse in the markets because this is a big transition,” Vance said on Newsmax’s Rob Schmitt Tonight Thursday.
“You saw the president said earlier today, it’s like a patient who was very sick. We did the operation, and now it’s time to make the patient better. And that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Vance added.
He was referencing a Truth Social post from President Trump that said the economy is in a post-surgery phase, and metaphorical convalescence will lead to a more healthy outcome down the line.
“THE OPERATION IS OVER! THE PATIENT LIVED, AND IS HEALING. THE PROGNOSIS IS THAT THE PATIENT WILL BE FAR STRONGER, BIGGER, BETTER, AND MORE RESILIENT THAN EVER BEFORE. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” Trump wrote on his social media platform.
Vance, meanwhile, told Schmitt that the Dow Jones tumbling 1,679 points on Thursday is no cause for concern. “One bad day in the stock market,” he said, would be worth it because the U.S. will get a “booming stock market for a long time.”
He even suggested that the Trump administration considered even steeper levies.
“Frankly, we could have gone a lot higher,” he said. “But the president is trying to send a message that, you know, yeah, we’re going to be a little kind. We’re going to be a little discounted.”
