{"id":49188,"date":"2025-04-08T05:40:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T10:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/?p=49188"},"modified":"2025-04-10T10:23:31","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T15:23:31","slug":"trumps-panican-meltdown-a-tariff-fueled-market-mess-gets-a-new-mascot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/trumps-panican-meltdown-a-tariff-fueled-market-mess-gets-a-new-mascot\/49188\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s \u2018Panican\u2019 Meltdown: A Tariff-Fueled Market Mess Gets a New Mascot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, folks, Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s at it again, and this time he\u2019s invented a word so bizarre it\u2019s almost as chaotic as the markets he\u2019s tanking. On April 7, 2025, as Wall Street spiraled into its third day of tariff-induced panic, the former-and-current president took to Truth Social to drop a linguistic bombshell: \u201cDon\u2019t be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!).\u201d Yes, you read that right\u2014PANICAN<\/strong>, all caps, because subtlety\u2019s never been his thing. With global stocks plummeting and his beloved tariffs lighting the fuse, Trump<\/a>\u2019s latest outburst is either a stroke of genius or a cry for help. Spoiler: it\u2019s probably both.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s set the scene. The S&P 500<\/a>\u2019s down nearly 18% from its mid-February peak, the Nasdaq\u2019s a tech-heavy dumpster fire, and the Dow just shed 2,231 points in two days\u2014its worst back-to-back beating since the COVID crash of March 2020. Why? Trump\u2019s April 2 tariff bombshell, that\u2019s why. He slapped a 10% baseline levy on all imports starting April 5, with juicier \u201creciprocal\u201d rates\u2014like 34% on China and 20% on Europe\u2014kicking in April 9. The world\u2019s retaliating faster than you can say \u201ctrade war,\u201d with China firing back 34% tariffs on U.S. goods and Canada prepping a $20.7 billion counterpunch. Goldman Sachs slashed its 2025 GDP forecast to a measly 0.5%, muttering about \u201ccountdown to recession,\u201d while JPMorgan\u2019s tossing around a 60% chance of economic doom. And Trump? He\u2019s out here coining \u201cPanican\u201d like it\u2019s the next big MAGA rally chant.<\/p>\n

Social media\u2019s ablaze with reactions. On X, @dannyctkemp flagged the term early on April 7, tying it to Trump\u2019s tariff stubbornness as markets bled. @intelligencer mused that Trump\u2019s trying to \u201cend the market crash via name-calling,\u201d noting the confusion over what \u201cPanican\u201d even means\u2014panic plus American? A new political tribe? By nightfall, @boblister_poole was snarking that Trump \u201cLives In His Own World & Language,\u201d while @Kanieh57 flipped it into a badge of honor: \u201cI\u2019d rather be a \u2018PANICAN\u2019 than the raging idiot he is.\u201d Sentiment\u2019s split\u2014some see it as Trump thumbing his nose at the pearl-clutchers, others as proof he\u2019s lost the plot.<\/p>\n

So, what\u2019s a \u201cPanican\u201d? Trump\u2019s post suggests it\u2019s his latest slur for the weak-kneed doubters freaking out over his master plan. \u201cThe United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO. Don\u2019t be Weak! Don\u2019t be Stupid!\u201d he ranted, urging folks to \u201cHANK TOUGH\u201d (whatever that means\u2014hang tough, we assume?). It\u2019s classic Trump: double down, deflect, and dunk on the haters. He\u2019s framing the market meltdown as a necessary detox\u2014\u201cmedicine,\u201d he called it aboard Air Force One on April 6, per Reuters\u2014while insisting tariffs will reset the trade table and make America filthy rich. Never mind that the Tax Foundation pegs these levies as a $2.9 trillion tax hike over a decade, shrinking GDP by 0.7% before retaliation even kicks in.<\/p>\n

The markets aren\u2019t buying it. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF cratered nearly 7% on April 7, with Nvidia and Tesla hemorrhaging 6% and 9% amid tariff fallout fears. Apple\u2019s down 19% in three days\u2014$638 billion in market cap gone\u2014thanks to its China-heavy supply chain getting squeezed. Posts on X like @FMckool argue Trump\u2019s right\u2014don\u2019t \u201cfreak out and sell,\u201d steel jobs might boom long-term\u2014but the short-term pain\u2019s real. Web chatter from CNBC and Reuters paints a grim picture: oil\u2019s tanking (U.S. crude hit $66.52 a barrel, down 7%), gold<\/a>\u2019s spiking near record highs, and the dollar\u2019s wobbling as investors bolt to bonds and yen. Bill Ackman<\/strong>, once a Trump fanboy, flipped the script on X, warning of an \u201ceconomic nuclear winter\u201d unless Trump pumps the brakes.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s not budging, though. On April 7, he threatened China with 50% tariffs if they don\u2019t ditch their retaliation, shrugging off market losses like they\u2019re pocket change. \u201cI don\u2019t want anything to go down. But sometimes you have to take medicine,\u201d he told reporters, doubling down on his Fox News claim that \u201cvirtually every country wants to negotiate.\u201d Except they don\u2019t\u2014just look at French President Macron urging a U.S. investment pause or Japan\u2019s PM Ishiba calling it a \u201cnational crisis.\u201d Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to smooth things over on Fox, hinting at months of talks with \u201cmaybe almost 70\u201d countries, but Peter Navarro\u2019s out here guaranteeing \u201cDow 50,000\u201d and \u201cno recession\u201d like it\u2019s 2016 all over again.<\/p>\n

The kicker? Economists are tearing their hair out. The Tax Foundation says imports will drop $800 billion in 2025\u201425%\u2014thanks to these tariffs, jacking up prices and slamming growth. CNN\u2019s Fareed Zakaria called it \u201cthe biggest economic policymaking error of my lifetime,\u201d arguing it turns America into a favor-currying swamp. On X, @grok noted past tariff wins\u2014like steel job bumps\u2014but warned of the chaos now. HSBC\u2019s whining about supply chain hiccups, while BofA\u2019s betting on Nvidia to weather it. Pick your poison.<\/p>\n

Where\u2019s this headed? If Trump\u2019s \u201cPanican\u201d jab was meant to steady the ship, it\u2019s failing\u2014markets opened April 8 with U.S. futures down again (Nasdaq off 0.9%, S&P 0.7%). Maybe he\u2019s onto something\u2014tariffs could force a manufacturing rethink\u2014or maybe he\u2019s just torched the economy for a catchy hashtag. Either way, the man\u2019s got the world spinning, and \u201cPanican\u201d might just be the least of our worries. Buckle up, because this tariff ride\u2019s only getting bumpier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well, folks, Donald Trump\u2019s at it again, and this time he\u2019s invented a word so bizarre it\u2019s almost as chaotic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":49189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4179,4180,4184,4185],"class_list":["post-49188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","tag-tariffs","tag-trump","tag-panican","tag-bill-ackman"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}