President Donald Trump just may have been outed for a crime –by his own allies on Fox News.
This week, Trump triggered market chaos with a wave of sweeping tariffs. He told Americans to “be cool” as global markets tumbled and Wall Street reeled. Then, just minutes after the opening bell rang on the New York Stock Exchange, Trump posted in all caps: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!”
Just four hours later, Trump suddenly reversed course. He announced a 90-day pause on tariffs for most countries, giving markets an immediate jolt. Stocks surged. Wall Street rebounded. Investors who bought during the drop — including, potentially, Trump allies — made a fortune.
At first glance, it looked like a political bluff. But what unfolded afterward took on a more sinister tone — especially when Fox News hosts began celebrating what they openly described as a pre-planned strategy.
Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, and Jeanine Pirro all praised Trump’s abrupt U-turn as deliberate, coordinated, and masterful. But in doing so, they may have inadvertently suggested something far more serious: that Trump intentionally manipulated financial markets and tipped off allies beforehand — which would amount to insider trading, a federal crime.
“The Treasury Secretary Bessent just confirmed what I had pretty much understood because I know the guy so well. This was the plan all along,” Hannity said on his podcast. “I’ve been saying this… He’s lining up all these nations, one after another after another, to the point where they’re begging to do a deal with us.”
Laura Ingraham gushed over Trump’s tariff flip-flop, calling it “genius.” She said, “Trump announced a brilliant move to pause the higher tariffs on countries negotiating with us, but meanwhile to raise China’s tariffs to 125 percent, to wall off China by boxing them out, further weakening their economic power. It’s genius.” She added, “Trump won. He’s doing exactly what he said he would do… It was a business decision to get everyone to the table so everyone can win.”
Jeanine Pirro echoed the celebration. “This is the biggest win for America because we’ve got a level playing field. We are no longer a doormat for other countries,” she said.
Jesse Watters took it even further, comparing Trump’s economic tactics to Reagan-era pressure on the Soviet Union. “Remember how Reagan crushed the Soviet Union? He used economic force and military spending to break them into pieces,” Watters said. “Trump has an opportunity to do the exact same thing here in China. It’s what everybody has always wanted.”
While Fox News hosts thought they were defending Trump, their praise strongly implies something damning: that Trump planned the tariff shock, warned his allies, and waited to cash in on the recovery. If true, that fits the textbook definition of a “pump and dump” scheme — a form of securities fraud where someone deliberately tanks the market to buy low, then drives prices up to profit.
Trump’s statement, “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!” — posted at the exact moment markets bottomed out — now reads less like optimism and more like a signal. And the fact that he reversed course within hours to lift markets makes the timing look far from accidental.
Even some on Fox News weren’t buying it. Fox Business correspondent Charles Gasparino challenged the narrative and rejected the idea that Trump had outsmarted global markets. “That’s not really what happened here,” he said. “It is the White House who capitulated based on everything I hear and all of my sources.” He explained that it was an “imploding” bond market that forced Trump’s hand. “Let’s see if those markets improve,” he added.
Gasparino was also blunt about what he saw as dishonesty from his peers. “I am so unbelievably frustrated with the level of intellectual dishonesty of so many people on the right,” he said on his YouTube channel. “I just find that level of mendacity, and lying, and dishonesty to be utterly appalling.”
The chain of events raises serious legal and ethical questions. On Tuesday, Trump warned of economic “pain” and told the public not to panic. Behind the scenes, his team insisted there would be no backtracking. Then, just before the markets opened Wednesday, he encouraged people to buy in. Hours later, he lifted the tariffs — and the markets rebounded instantly.
Meanwhile, at a Republican fundraiser the night before, Trump mocked foreign leaders supposedly begging him to cut tariffs. “Please, Sir, make a deal. I’ll do anything. I’ll do anything, Sir,” he said in a mocking voice.
When asked later about his reversal, Trump dismissed concerns, saying Americans “were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid.”
But the implications are no longer just political. They’re legal. Senator Adam Schiff has called for an investigation into whether Trump’s actions amount to insider trading. The Securities and Exchange Commission has not yet commented.
Trump may think this was just “the art of the deal.” But if he really manipulated the stock market — and told his allies when to buy in — it could be the art of the crime.
