Former President Trump on Wednesday predicted there would be a stock market crash if he does not win the presidential election in November.
Trump was asked at a Fox News town hall in Iowa about his previous comments in which he said he hoped any economic downturn would happen in the next 12 months because he did not want to be like former President Hoover, who took office during a stable economy but later oversaw the Great Depression.
“You’re not saying you’re hoping for a crash, just to be clear?” town hall moderator Bret Baier asked.
“No. I think this. I think the economy is horrible, except the stock market is going up, and I think the stock market is going up because I’m leading Biden in all of the polls,” Trump said.
“I think there will be a crash if I don’t win,” Trump added. “And I say that, and I do not want to be Herbert Hoover.”
Trump, who is the front-runner for the GOP nomination in 2024, sat for an interview with former Fox Business Network host Lou Dobbs on a network launched by MyPillow founder Mike Lindell. In the interview, which aired Monday night, the former president described the economy as “fragile.”
“And when there’s a crash — I hope it’s going to be during this next 12 months, because I don’t want to be Herbert Hoover,” Trump added. “The one president I just don’t want to be, Herbert Hoover.”
Hoover had been in office for just a few months when the stock market crashed in 1929, triggering the Great Depression.
Biden aides and other Democrats seized on the comments, arguing they showed Trump had no regard for the average American worker and was only concerned about his political fortunes.
Just after Trump made the remarks at the town hall, the Biden campaign emailed supporters with a subject line that read: “Donald Trump Already is Herbert Hoover.”
The economy has been a strong point for Trump with voters, with polling showing most Americans trusting Trump over Biden on the issue.
But Biden aides have repeatedly argued the president’s economic plan is working, pointing to a steady decline in inflation, strong employment numbers and continued growth that has defied expectations. The stock market hit record highs in mid-December.