“Trump is trying to crash the market on purpose.”

When I first heard this theory a few weeks ago, I quickly dismissed it as absurd. After all, during his first term as president, Donald Trump often pointed to the S&P 500 as a barometer of his success. But just two days after what he called “Liberation Day” – a day marked by the unveiling of steep new tariffs and a corresponding major stock market selloff – Trump himself reposted a video claiming that he was intentionally driving the market lower. That made me take a second look (and this time, with a more open mind). The video has since been removed, but here’s what it said – plus, my take on whether its claims hold water, what Trump’s bigger plan could be, and what it might mean for investors.