Trump says 'impeachment nonsense' is driving the stock market lower
President Donald Trump on Wednesday blamed the recent stock-market sell-off on Democrats pushing for his impeachment.
In a tweet, he said: "All of this impeachment nonsense, which is going nowhere, is driving the Stock Market, and your 401K's, down. But that is exactly what the Democrats want to do."
The president's comments came as Wall Street's major stock indexes swooned for the second consecutive day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 530 points — more than 2% — in midday trading, with all S&P 500 sectors trading in the red.
Investors on Wednesday blamed weaker manufacturing and private employment data for renewing fears of a forthcoming recession in the United States.
Others added that the persistent trade angst between Washington and Beijing has also left businesses anxious about import prices and supply chain disruptions.
For his part, Trump pointed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who on Sept. 24 announced an impeachment inquiry into Trump alleging he abused his power. The leading Democrat took official action to investigate Trump after the president's now-controversial call with his Ukrainian counterpart, during which he requested help in investigating former Vice President Joe Biden.
Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to castigate Pelosi's move and said the stock market would plummet if Congress successfully removed him from office.
"If they actually did this the markets would crash. Do you think it was luck that got us to the best Stock Market and Economy in our history. It wasn't," the tweet said.
In the impeachment inquiry's latest development, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said he plans to issue a subpoena to the White House for documents related to Ukraine.