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Speaking to Fox News Digital on Capitol Hill, Democratic lawmakers dodged questions about why the stock market has done well under the president. Donald Trump despite their dire forecasts regarding the administration's tariffs.
Some downplayed the market's success, pointing out that it had nothing to do with the true state of the country. economic pulse.
Asked by Fox News Digital why the stock market is still doing well if Trump's tariffs are hurting the economy, Sen. Catherine Cortez MastoD-Nev., responded: “The stock market is not the economy.”
She insisted that because of the tariffs, Americans “feel prices plummet when they go to the grocery store and the prices are high.”
“The reason for this is tariffs. Tariffs or taxes on Americans,” she said. “And that’s why these prices are higher. And that’s why I fought against it.”
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Rep. Paramala Paramala, D-Wash., President Donald President – Monday. Cataries Cortez Masto, D-Nev. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images; Jacqueline Martin/AP Photo; Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Progressive Republican Pramila JayapalWashington state, told Fox News Digital that she believes the stock market is only doing well because “billionaires continue to do well.”
“Corporations have received huge tax benefits“That's why the stock market is doing well because stocks are really, you know, a lot of these big companies feel like they're doing well, they continue to get huge tax breaks.”
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., said that “no matter what the stock market says, [Americans] We see that the cost of products has not decreased. They see that health care costs have become truly exorbitant. They can't afford it. They can’t afford the cost of the goods.”
“It's what they expect us to respond to, how it affects them and their daily lives. And that’s what I’m focused on here,” she continued.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told Fox News Digital that “everyone in America knows that the prices of goods that are subject to tariffs are higher.”
“The stock market is important to a lot of people, but what matters most to people is prices. And right now, people are suffering because of Trump's economic policies, including tariffs,” he said. “That's not what the Democrats are saying. It is simply a fact that tariffs are costing consumers thousands of dollars.”
Meanwhile, the Trump administration blamed the Biden administration for persistently high grocery store prices rather than tariffs.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt criticized the media over its reporting on affordability under the Trump administration during a bilateral meeting between President Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. (Saul Loeb // AFP via Getty Images)
On Friday, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt posted on X urging Americans to “TRUST TRUMP,” saying “the President’s pro-growth policies are a proven formula for making America affordable again. They worked in his first term and are slowly but surely working now.”
“President Trump and his entire administration, from the NEC to the Treasury to the USDA, are working diligently every day to address the affordability challenges created by Joe Bidenwhich unleashed the worst inflation crisis in modern American history—something the liberal media has barely blamed on Democrats for in the last 4 years.”
Leavitt wrote that “prices for eggs, butter, ice cream, fresh fruit, cereals, fish, seafood, rice, pasta and ham are falling,” adding that “the best is yet to come.”
Back on Capitol Hill, Sen. John Hoeven, D-Md., echoed that sentiment, saying, “The fact is… [Democrats] missing, that's what [Trump] trying to get us better terms with all the countries we export to, trying to get a level playing field, trying to increase our exports.”
“You need to separate the short term from what will happen over time,” he explained. “They're trying to make an argument in the short term because of some of the challenges of getting other countries to play fair.”
“You have to go through this process,” Hoven continued. “The President did this in his first term, and we ended up getting huge sales to China and other countries, and it helped our agricultural markets and our other exports. So it's the same again; he works to ensure that we get better trading conditions for all our producers, processors, farmers and everyone else. But it doesn’t happen overnight, it doesn’t happen overnight.”
Senate Republicans defect and reject Trump's tariffs on Canadian goods
U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.) goes to vote at the U.S. Capitol on October 8, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Not all of Trump's tariffs are universally condemned by Democrats. Sep. John FettermanThe Pennsylvania Democrat told Fox News Digital, “I agree with some tariffs, especially ones like China.”
“But I do not agree to go after Canada and our allies,” he continued. “In some circumstances, such as when it is steel, it is appropriate. Some of the others I don’t necessarily agree with.”
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Fetterman added that “it now appears that the Supreme Court may vote against this. So at the end of the day, their opinion matters much more than mine.”
When asked why the market continued to perform well despite the tariffs, Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal responded, “One thing I've learned is don't try to predict or analyze the stock market.”
