Trump Links Presidency to Stock Market with Opening Bell Event
On Monday, President Donald Trump symbolically rang the opening bells of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq from the Oval Office. This act aimed to connect his presidency with the stock market.
With inflation affecting his popularity, Trump encouraged Americans to focus on their retirement investments, known as 401(k) plans. He claimed that his policies deserved credit for any market gains, especially as the midterm elections in November approached.
“I believe the market will soar,” said Trump after the event. Despite his confidence, only 33% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s economic leadership according to a June survey by AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. This underscores why emphasizing the stock market may not be advantageous for his party this fall.
The Oval Office event also promoted the launch of Trump Accounts. These accounts aimed to involve children in stock index investments as part of a large Republican tax and spending bill planned for 2025. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent highlighted that many Americans lack direct exposure to stocks, indicating that benefits concentrate on wealthier households or come only decades later in retirement.
Bessent noted before the bell rang that “38% of American families have no exposure to our large equity markets.” The S&P 500 showed gains of 17.9% in 2025, following annual returns of 25% in 2024 and 26.3% in 2023 during Democrat Joe Biden’s presidency. The benchmark index is up approximately 10% this year.
Similar to how inflation undermined Biden’s public support, Trump experienced a drop in approval due to rising prices. Trump won the 2024 election promising to cut costs, but tariffs and the onset of the Iran war created new inflationary pressures. The consumer price index increased 4.2% over the last 12 months, compared to 3% at the start of his second term in January 2025.
However, Trump bet on stock investments pushed by the government and prominent companies and billionaires to give future generations deeper participation in the U.S. economy. The accounts received support from billionaires aside from $1,000 from the government. Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies, and his wife, Susan, appeared with Trump and pledged $6.25 billion for the accounts. Other pledges came from billionaires like investor Ray Dalio and SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell. Shotwell stated on Monday that she would donate shares of the company headed by Elon Musk to the accounts.
Trump jokingly acknowledged that children missed out on stock market gains due to the delay in launching Trump Accounts. “We should have acted faster,” he commented.