Trump’s First Year: Wall Street Hits an All-Time Record

This week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average accomplished something for the first time in 121 years: It gained 5,000 points in a single year – the largest gain in value Wall Street has ever seen in a 12-month period. After a 200 point rally on Monday, the news was official, and there was no ignoring the fact that President Donald Trump – declared an economic disaster by so many naysayers when he was on his way to the White House – had more than a little something to do with it.

Now we’re not giving Trump full credit for the exploding stocks – there is always a bit of mythmaking involved when a president gets too much credit (or too much blame) for the overall economy, especially when it pertains to Wall Street. That said, there’s no denying that Trump’s presidency is positively correlated to the unprecedented boom we’re seeing in the stock market. Investors like what they’re seeing from this president, who has made rolling back Obama-era regulations one of his most treasured pastimes. And with an extraordinary tax bill expected to hit the president’s desk before the end of the year, investors are more excited than ever about the possibilities of this administration.

But that’s not the only economic indicator that bodes well for the president. According to the CNBC All-American Economic Survey, Americans are more optimistic about the economy than they have been in at least eleven years. More than half of those surveyed said they saw the economy as either good or excellent, and a “near record” 41 percent of respondents said they expected even better things from the economy in the coming year.

From CNBC:

The survey found that 42 percent of Americans expect their wages to rise in the next year, and 41 percent of homeowners see their home values going up, the highest level recorded since 2007. In 2011, while the country remained in an economic funk from the financial crisis, just 15 percent of homeowners thought their home prices would rise.

Trump’s approval rating has mostly been disconnected from the better economic data but that could be changing. With gross domestic product rising strongly the past two quarters and the unemployment rate remaining low, Trump’s approval rating has jumped.

Forty-two percent in the poll approve of the job Trump is doing as president, up 4 points from the September survey, while 49 percent disapprove, down 3 points. The president’s net negative rating of minus 7 (approval minus disapproval) is half of what it was in the summer and his best showing since taking office but still weak for such a strong economy.

If the economy can make good on the expectations, we could be looking at an extraordinary American boom over the next couple of years. And then it won’t matter how many faux-scandals and controversies the Democrats throw at the president, re-election in 2020 will simply be a matter of math.