President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House on April 10, 2025. Trump warned of the “transition cost” from his tariff policies, as Wall Street stocks fell again over the worsening trade war with China. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — Democrats asserted Thursday that President Donald Trump, family members and members of his administration may have profited off inside information about his recent moves on tariffs that caused the market to plummet and then rebound.
Sens. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, and Adam Schiff, D-California, demanded detailed information from the White House about any stock trades by adviser Elon Musk and many others in the president’s inner circle who might have known ahead of time about the huge tariffs Trump announced April 2, or that he would abruptly reverse course a week later.
“This sequence of events raises grave legal and ethics concerns,” the senators wrote to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and to Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade ambassador who also serves as acting head of the Office of Government Ethics.
“The President, his family, and his advisors are uniquely positioned to be privy to and take advantage of non-public information to inform their investment decisions,” the senators’ letter said.
They and other Democrats point to the 18% jump in the share price of electric vehicle maker Tesla after Trump paused the tariffs on Wednesday – and to a sudden surge in trading volume just before that announcement.
Musk owns 12% of Tesla. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated his wealth at $298 billion the day before the pause. The Tesla stake accounts for about half of his wealth, according to Forbes.
When the market rallied on news of the pause, Musk’s portfolio jumped by an estimated $36 billion.
“Trump just showed us a master class in insider trading. This is corruption at the highest level,” Gallego posted Thursday on X – the social media platform that Musk owns.
Gallego’s post includes a reimagined cover of Trump’s 1987 book “Trump: The Art of the Deal,” this one titled “Trump: Art of the Steal.” The original cover photo has been replaced with a portrait that briefly hung in the Colorado state Capitol until Trump demanded its removal, deeming it unflattering and inaccurate.
Trump just showed us a master class in insider trading. This is corruption at the highest level.
I’m demanding answers from the White House. pic.twitter.com/Sbpx1kIael
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) April 10, 2025
“It is the responsibility of the President of the United States to reassure the markets and Americans about their economic security in the face of nonstop media fear mongering,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement provided to numerous news outlets.
The senators and their aides have provided no evidence of insider trading. But they were hardly the only Democrats alleging insider trading off the tariff upheaval. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, vowed an inquiry.
Democrats cite posts by Trump on his Truth Social platform hours before the pause was announced, calling it a hint for his followers to take financial advantage of the turmoil he had created.
“BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well. The USA will be bigger and better than ever before!” Trump posted. Moments later, he added, “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.”
Containers are loaded and unloaded from cargo ships at Port Liberty on April 10, 2025 in Bayonne, New Jersey. Despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s declared 90-day tariff pause for many countries, uncertainty remains in global trade, with the Dow and other international markets falling steeply again. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Greer was testifying in his capacity as U.S. trade representative before the House Ways and Means Committee when Trump announced the pause.
“Is this market manipulation?” asked Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nevada.
“No,” Greer responded. “We’re trying to reset the global trade system.”
“Who’s benefiting? What billionaire just got richer?” Horsford asked.
Gallego’s office said it has no further information when asked for evidence or any basis for their allegations. Schiff is a former federal prosecutor and was the lead House impeachment manager during Trump’s first impeachment trial. His office did not respond.
U.S. markets lost $10 trillion in the three days following Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement. After the pause on Wednesday, the markets surged. The S&P 500 had its best day since 2008, and the Nasdaq skyrocketed 12%.
The day after the announcement, the markets reeled back; the S&P 500 slid 3.5%, the Nasdaq was down 4.3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.5%.