Trump Flip-Flops After Telling Representatives to Stop Stimulus Package Negotiations Until the Election (UPDATE)

Trump announced on Twitter that he ordered his team to halt negotiations on the next fiscal stimulus package until after the general election.

October 6, 2020

UPDATED 10/8, 1:40 p.m. ET: Trump has changed tack, stating that stimulus conversations are back in play and that another round of $1,200 checks from the government could supposedly be a reality.

“Well I shut down talks two days ago because they weren’t working out. Now they are starting to work out, we’re starting to have some very productive talks,” he said on Fox Business Network, per the Washington Post.

Trump added that he thinks House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “wants it to happen, because it’s so good for our country, we really need it.” He said the cease in negotiations was “not anybody’s fault, they were trying to get things, and we were trying to get things and it wasn’t going anywhere, I shut it down. I don’t want to play games. And then we reopened, and I see the markets are doing well but I think we have a really good chance of doing something."

See original story below.

Donald Trump announced Tuesday he has ordered his team to halt negotiations on the next fiscal stimulus package until after the general election. He then promised the nation he intends to "pass a major Stimulus Bill" following—what he predicts to be—his victory. (Trump is currently trailing Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden by 16 points in a CNN national poll.)

"I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business," the president tweeted.

Trump also confirmed he had rejected Democrats' $2.4 trillion stimulus proposal, and specifically took aim at Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

POTUS accused the Democratic leader of "not negotiating in good faith," as she proposed a coronavirus relief package that included "bailouts" for "poorly run, high crime, Democratic States, money that is in no way related to COVID-19."

Trump also said he has urged Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell to go forward with the confirmation hearings for his Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.

You can read his tweets below.

After the announcement from Trump, the stock market plunged with the Dow Jones Industrial Average sinking by over 300 points. Trump then later reversed course, tweeting at Nancy Pelosi that he would sign a standalone bill that provided payments of $1,200 to Americans.

The tweets were posted just a day after Trump returned to the White House after being hospitalized with coronavirus at Walter Reed Medical Center. His message also comes on the same day Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell called on Congressional leaders to pass a robust stimulus package to avoid an economic disaster.

"Too little support would lead to a weak recovery, creating unnecessary hardship for households and businesses," Powell said during a virtual meeting hosted by National Association for Business Economics. "Over time, household insolvencies and business bankruptcies would rise, harming the productive capacity of the economy, and holding back wage growth."

According to CNN, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 300 points—a 1.1 percent loss—following Trump's posts on the stimulus negotiations. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were also down, 1.3 percent and the 1.4 percent, respectively.