For some peculiar reason, the discussion about how many men it would take to win a fight against a gorilla went viral.  Some say it would take one hundred men.  Mike Tyson agrees, but only if they’re all him.  Others, like conservationist Robert Irwin (son of famed Steve Irwin), prefer to ask how many people does it take to “save” the strapping beasts.  So let’s forget the gorilla, and ponder the pecuniary ramifications of fighting President Trump.

In concert with his “Liberation Day” announcement, President Trump insinuated there’d likely be some modest pain during the transition to a free and fair trading regime.  Developments are dynamic as numerous countries are knocking at our door, pleading to access our great, consumer-driven markets.  Negotiations are even pending with China. 

Still, Wall Street naysayers insisted on fighting Trump.  They were tripping over themselves to stress the worst-case economic scenarios, just willing a recession.  It’s as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted: fears of a recession are being stoked by the media.  Meanwhile, President Trump is facilitating great investments, reshoring, and manufacturing in America.

For now, at least,  the pain as manifested in stock market gyrations appears to have been transitory — they have rebounded to levels before Liberation Day.  Don’t fight Trump.

Those who didn’t fight Trump may have benefited.  Indeed, in a Truth Social post on 9 April, President Trump exhorted, “This is a great time to buy!!!” (“Exhorted” because he used all caps and three exclamations).  It was indeed.  In fact, some Wall Street analysts are advising investors and traders to not fight Trump.  A Barclays analyst, for example, said that the long-standing mantra of “don’t fight Trump” remains pertinent, and has lasting endurance as trade negotiations progress.

Perceptions and sentiment often rule a jittery Wall Street that’s prone to confirmation bias that’s not balanced by falsification bias.  However, there is a phenomenon in the stock market, backed by empirical data, known as the “Trump put.” It essentially states that President Trump will underpin the markets; indeed, Bank of America says the Trump Put is alive and well.

That may be why markets listened when President Trump said, during the U.S.-UK trade deal announcement, that “You better go out and buy stock now.” I’ll take that advice over risking the opportunity cost based on pessimistic stock analysts.

There are a few things that Wall Street advises against fighting, including: “Don’t fight the Fed,” and “Don’t fight the tape.”  While no one can consistently time the market — if ever — President Trump was prescient with his buy recommendations.  It may be inadvisable to fight him.

Financial markets can be confounding as they are often riddled with confusing and contrary indicators, and those darn algos push buttons first and ask questions later.  If I had to choose one guidepost in navigating financial markets it would be “Don’t fight Trump.”  Doing so might be as detrimental to one’s financial health as annoying a magnificent gorilla (or Mike Tyson) may be to one’s physical wellbeing.

Image: Public domain.