Trump and Musk Compared to Characters in "Dumb and Dumber"
SNS Users Satirize Their Impact on the U.S. Economy
About three weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policy announcement, approximately $7.3 trillion vanished from the U.S. stock market, leading to him being dubbed the "Midas touch in reverse" through a popular "meme" (internet viral content) actively shared on social networking services (SNS) and other platforms.
A composite photo satirizing the stock market crash due to tariff policies since the launch of Donald Trump's second administration. Screenshot from X (formerly Twitter)
On the 15th (local time), the U.S. online media BuzzFeed reported that "U.S. politics has completely turned into a circus," sharing a post that gained huge popularity on SNS. One user on X (formerly Twitter) posted a composite photo of Trump's face. The image depicted stock prices crumbling like powder from Trump's hands, plummeting sharply. The user added the phrase "It's all over." This appears to satirize the reality of stock prices sharply falling following the launch of Trump's second administration and its tariff policies.
Following Trump's tariff policy announcement, anxiety spread among investors. Due to concerns about an economic recession, selling pressure continued, causing a staggering $5 trillion (about 7,300 trillion won) to evaporate from the U.S. stock market over the past three weeks. Until recently, the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index had recorded gains exceeding 20% consecutively in 2023 and 2024, but this year, major indices have sharply declined starting with Tesla's stock plunge. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index has fallen more than 9% this year, and the Russell 2000 index, which focuses on small- and mid-cap companies, has dropped nearly 18% from its recent peak, approaching a "bear market."
In particular, analysis by asset management firm Ritholtz Wealth Management shows that the S&P 500 index has officially entered a correction phase after falling 10.1% from its recent high. This is reported to be the fifth fastest correction entry speed in the past 75 years.
Trump's past remarks have also drawn attention amid the stock market plunge. On the 11th, the Democratic Party shared a post Trump made on his social media platform Truth Social on August 5 of last year. At that time, Trump said, "The stock market is crashing, job numbers are terrible, and we are heading toward World War III," adding, "Moreover, we have the two most incompetent leaders in history. This is not good." This post was originally written to criticize then-Democratic President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, but with Trump himself inaugurated as president and the stock market plunging, it has become a kind of "self-criticism." Netizens reacted sarcastically, saying, "Trump accurately predicted his own future," and "Is Trump a psychic?"
A netizen compared the appearances of Trump and Musk to the comedy film "Dumb and Dumber" starring Jim Carrey. Screenshot from X (formerly Twitter)
SNS users also created images comparing Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk talking inside a Tesla car to the comedy film "Dumb and Dumber," starring Jim Carrey. This analogy likens the two figures to the foolish characters in the movie, satirizing that their policies and actions are negatively impacting the U.S. economy.
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