US president Donald Trump has blamed the Democrats’ sweeping victory in the midterm elections for a $3 trillion wipeout in stock market value, saying America had “taken a giant step back in history” but promising that his party would return “bigger and stronger than ever before”.In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the market had suffered a one-day loss of $3 trillion despite having performed like a “rocketship” under his presidency.“America took a giant step back in History with the results of the last Election — Even the Stock Market, which has been a ‘ROCKETSHIP’ under ‘TRUMP,’ took a one day, 3 Trillion Dollar loss,” he wrote, before adding: “But have no fear, we will be back, BIGGER AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!”It was not the first time Trump had attributed the market decline to the Democratic victory. Speaking to reporters in Florida on Friday, he said the US had lost about $3 trillion after investors learnt that Democrats had performed well in the election, adding that the development was also linked to his administration’s position on Iran’s nuclear programme.“We lost about $3 trillion when they found out that the Democrats did well in the election, rather surprisingly, but that’s the way life goes. It had to do with the fact that we won’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon, so you always have to go with that first,” he said.At an appearance at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre on Friday, Trump again referred to the losses, suggesting he might have been more unhappy had the market gained the same amount.“Our country lost three trillion dollars all because of an election. I wonder what that means. If we would have gained three trillion dollars, I probably would have been more unhappy,” he said.The comments came after Wall Street experienced a sharp reversal following an initial rally on news of the Democratic sweep. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1,569 points, or 3%, marking its strongest post-midterm election performance in 44 years. The S&P 500 gained 1.6%, with investors appearing to welcome the prospect of a divided government and more predictable policymaking.The mood changed sharply the following day. US stocks lost roughly $3 trillion in market value on Thursday, with the Nasdaq falling 5.2%, the S&P 500 dropping 3.8% and the Dow declining 2.9%, or more than 1,500 points, according to market reports.Technology and artificial intelligence-linked stocks bore the brunt of the sell-off. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell nearly 10% in intraday trading and briefly dropped as much as 11%. AMD and Micron each lost around 15%, while Nvidia fell almost 9%.The decline followed a sell-off in Asian markets, with South Korea’s Kospi falling 5.28%, Taiwan’s main index declining 3.2% and Japan’s Nikkei dropping 1.79%.While Trump linked the losses to the election result, market concerns also centred on the outlook for the technology sector, particularly the expansion of data centres. Several Democratic candidates campaigned on restricting or pausing new data centre projects, amid concerns about their demands on electricity grids and local infrastructure.In Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican governor Greg Abbott after campaigning for an immediate moratorium on new data centres. Ohio’s Amy Acton and Georgia’s Keisha Lance Bottoms also made restrictions on data centre development part of their campaigns.The political pushback has raised concerns among investors about permitting delays and the impact on companies involved in the AI infrastructure boom. Texas is a particular focus, with an estimated 27% of planned data centre capacity located in the state, according to Wells Fargo. Abbott had already paused new data centre permits in September pending an audit of the electricity grid.Trump’s remarks followed a historic setback for Republicans, with Democrats securing majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The result has shifted the balance of power in Washington and opened the door for Democrats to challenge the administration’s policies, scrutinise federal spending and launch investigations into the Trump administration.However, the Democratic gains do not mean the party will have an unrestricted legislative agenda. Trump retains the presidential veto, which allows him to block legislation passed by Congress unless lawmakers can secure a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override it.The president has already signalled that he is prepared to use the power. As the scale of the Democratic victory became clear, he posted a photograph of a red baseball cap bearing the word “VETO” on Truth Social.“It’s the power of veto. It’s one of the stronger powers that a president has,” Trump said after the Republican defeat.But Trump has also said he does not want to spend the next two years vetoing legislation. “I don’t want to be just sitting there for two years vetoing everything,” he told Politico.The White House, for its part, appeared keen to remind Americans that the election result had not changed who occupies the Oval Office. After the Republican losses, its official X account posted: “PSA: TRUMP IS STILL YOUR PRESIDENT,” alongside a photograph of the president.
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