AP Images
Fred Trump, boxing promoter Don King, and Donald Trump in December 1987
- Black Monday, October 19, 1987 was the day of the largest one day stock market drop in history.
- Then-real estate investor Donald Trump told the Wall Street Journal the next day that he had dumped all his stock in the preceding months before the crash.
- "I think the market is going to go down further, there are just too many things wrong with the country," Trump said.
On Monday, October 18, 1987 the stock market was rocked by the worst one day fall in history with the Dow Jones industrial average falling 508 points, or 22.7%.
Luckily, now-President, then-real estate investor Donald Trump claimed to have sold all of his stock before the downfall of the market
"They told you so!" crowed the lede of a Wall Street Journal article the day after the crash, October 20.
"I sold all my stock over the last month," Trump told the Journal.
Trump also predicted terrible things ahead for the market.
"I think the market is going to go down further, there are just too many things wrong with the country," Trump said.
The market took roughly a year and a half to make up the losses from the crash. After that recovery, however, stocks entered the longest bull market in the post-World War II era.
Fittingly given his priorities in office, Trump pointed to the US trade deficit as a source of major concern. During the presidential campaign and the early parts of his presidency, Trump has repeatedly raised concerns over the trade situation of the US.
"The US cannot afford to lose $200 billion a year while Japan and Saudi Arabia are making tremendous profit and the US is paying totally for their defense," Trump said.
Interestingly, as opposed to Trump's present-day thinking about trade, the real estate mogul Trump advocated for decreasing trade barriers with Japan. As president, Trump has sought to increase barriers to trade in order to protect American profits.