Business

Who is more responsible for the ‘best stock market in 75 years:’ Biden or Trump?

WRITTEN BY
05/03/21
vs

Fact Box

  • JPMorgan analysts reviewed Biden’s first 100 days as president and found that the US stock market returns are better than any other president in the past 75 years.” They said “record fiscal stimulus had pushed equity returns to all-time highs.” 
  • The numbers only rival John F. Kennedy’s 18.5% rise, but Biden takes the lead at S&P 500 at 24.1 percent. Donald Trump came at 11.4% in his first 100 days. 
  • During then-President Trump’s four-year term, the stock market S&P 500 rose over 50% since the November 2016 election. 
  • For the first wave of stimulus checks under the Trump administration, individual taxpayers received $1,200. The second round included $600 per person. The Biden administration sent out a third set of stimulus checks of $1,400 on March 12, 2021.

Heather (Biden)

Biden deserves more responsibility than Trump for 'the best stock market in 75 years' because there has been tremendous and record-breaking growth in the stock market since he took office, along with a sense of renewed optimism among investors. According to FactSet data and CNBC analysis, 'President Joe Biden has witnessed an unprecedented growth on Wall Street in his first 100 days in office, better than any of his predecessors going to at least Dwight Eisenhower.' A specific example of this record growth is the S&P 500 breaking the 4,000 point-barrier for the first time. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq have also enjoyed gains.

There is now renewed optimism for investors in the stock market since Biden has been president, and this kind of confidence is crucial for stock performance and growth. Biden can be directly credited for buoying this optimistic confidence because of his stimulus package, plan to rebuild infrastructure, and new vaccine pledge. All of these key steps under the leadership of President Biden have given investors real reasons to believe that there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel during this COVID crisis for the economy to reopen and recover fully. While it has certainly helped Biden that Trump saw our nation through the first part of the COVID crisis and was able to facilitate rapid vaccine production, only Biden's leadership was able to renew the optimism and confidence of investors to yield unprecedented and record growth to create the best stock market in 75 years.

 

Stephanie (Trump) 

According to JP Morgan's recent claim, under the Biden administration, the stock market has reached its highest peak in the past 75 years. However, to acknowledge economic success under the current presidency, it is necessary to give credit to former President Trump, whose term also resulted in a record-high Dow in 2020.

During the beginning of President Trump's presidency, he focused on strengthening the American economy, resulting in overall GDP growth. The nation had the 'lowest unemployment rate in half a century' and experienced significant wage increases, especially among African Americans. This was achieved by strengthening the economy from within by reducing taxes under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, thus promoting growth and stimulating the private sector, which allowed the economy to flourish organically and without government handouts.

When COVID-19 hit, such funding was needed to aid the country's economic health and prevent a recession. Societally, this helped to increase confidence in Americans that it was still safe to start new businesses and invest accordingly. While the economy was undeniably affected, as many businesses were forced to shut down, the Trump administration managed to navigate through the pandemic, approve an associated vaccine, and even celebrate the 'fastest GDP growth in history' after lockdowns were lifted.

If the economy is to at all mimic what occurred when Biden served in the White House with President Obama when the country faced the 'slowest U.S. recovery since WWII,' Americans can expect it to experience slow recovery again. Hopefully, the Biden administration will not take future actions that undo the progress that Trump made for the American stock market.

  • chat-ic0
  • like-ic2
  • chart-ic24
  • share-icShare

Comments

0 / 1000