If you look at leftist political means on social media, most of what they say is abstract. Thus, they’ll preach “love” in one post while, in another, they gloat over Trump almost being assassinated or they’ll celebrate Kamala’s alleged “joy.” Occasionally, though, they get down to brass tacks—or at least, that’s what they think they’re doing. Nothing demonstrates that better than a post about the Dow Jones under Trump versus the Dow under Biden. The post, seemingly factual on its face, is actually quite dishonest.

Internet meme; creator unknown.

It’s true that, on March 20, 2020, the Dow Jones closed at a low of 19,173. However, even the BBC admitted that this low number was because the COVID lockdowns crashed into Trump’s previously roaring economy:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 major American companies fell more than 4.5% on Friday, erasing all the gains it had made since Donald Trump became president in January 2017.

The drop helped to finish the worst week on Wall Street since 2008, with all three indexes down at least 12%.

The falls come as authorities tighten restrictions on activity in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

[snip]

The Dow lost more than 900 points to close at 19,173, while the wider S&P 500 dropped 4.3% to 2,304 and the Nasdaq lost 3.8% to 6,879.5.

Before the leftists weaponized COVID and George Floyd’s self-induced death, the Dow Jones average was surging under Trump. Beginning in August 2018, after Trump’s tax cuts and tariffs began to take effect, we had a phenomenal bull market in America, reflecting real optimism and innovation. No wonder Democrats needed something to stop that momentum, which would have swept Trump into an easy 2020 victory.

Nor was this a stock market boom that benefitted only investors. Trump’s economic policies were paired with stable, low inflation (see the chart at this link, which shows historical inflation rates). In addition, people were working. It was the best labor market for blacks and Hispanics since the government started tracking labor rates by race.

So, while it’s true that the Dow closed at a high of over 39,000 in July (and is up to over 41,000 today), that’s comparing apples (Trump’s lowest ebb because of COVID lockdowns) to oranges (a market that finally struggled back up after three and a half years of Bidenomics).

Even if Democrats acknowledge the apples-and-oranges comparison, they'll still argue that, by hitting new records, Biden has proven that he’s the better president for the economy, making Harris his logical heir. There are several problems with this.

First, this claim ignores inflation. By the end of 2019, the Dow hit a record 28,621.39. If those points were dollars, the US Inflation Calculator says they’d be worth $35,213 today. That significantly narrows the difference between Trump’s high and Harris-Biden’s high.

Moreover, the Consumer Price Index utterly fails to reflect the real costs that consumers face. As Investopedia explains,

It has a number of inherent weaknesses. Its accuracy has drawn increasing criticism.

For example, during a period when energy costs rose by more than 50% and the prices of some of the most commonly purchased grocery items increased by nearly 30%, the CPI continued to show a very modest inflation rate.

In contrast, other indicators measuring the buying power of consumers showed a dramatic increase in the cost of living. (End notes omitted.)

I highly recommend the entire article, which is fascinating, especially because it indicates that the US Inflation Calculator vastly undercounts how money has devalued under Harris-Biden. If you really had $28,621 from 2019 in your pocket, you’d have vastly more purchase power than the $35,213 the inflation calculator promises.

Second, the Dow Jones average is scarcely representative of the economy because it focuses only on the top 30 traded stocks. To get a handle on the economy, one needs to look at the NASDAQ, which averages all stocks, providing a real sense of how the economy is doing.

On Trump’s watch, the NASDAQ average rose 138%, while Harris-Biden’s term has seen it increase by only 39%. Considering the whole stock market, not just the top 30 players, Trump rocketed, while Harris-Biden was a disaster. This chart from the anti-Trump Dispatch tells the whole story (the NASDAQ data is about halfway down):

Third, over half the country doesn’t even have any retirement funds, let alone funds in Dow Jones-ranked stocks. These Americans aren’t affected by the stock market; they’re affected by inflation, and, as noted, inflation is bad. It’s slowed a bit, which Biden-Harris boast about, but even Harris conceded that costs for average Americans are way higher than they were before her administration:

Shortest political ad I've ever seen 🤣 pic.twitter.com/l8T2pHU4Cz

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) August 16, 2024

In other words, the leftist meme is simplistic and dishonest, which pretty much sums up the Harris campaign as a whole. If you’re going to trust a social media meme, I recommend this one: