Maggie Haberman: Stock market drop not something Trump, aides can ‘explain away’

New York Times political correspondent and CNN contributor Maggie Haberman said the drop in the stock market is not something President Trump or his aides can “explain away.”

Haberman joined CNN’s “The Source” and host Kaitlan Collins on Monday evening, just hours after the stock market closed down nearly 900 points, causing concern over Trump’s economic policy including recent tariffs placed on several countries.

“This is not something that they can explain away very easily,” Haberman said. “This is the second week in a row, where there is a significant drop in the Dow Jones number. And as you said, this is something that Trump uses to measure his own success.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 890 points on Monday, falling about 2.1 percent. Since the start of March, stocks have fallen in response to Trump’s tariff announcement on Canada, Mexico and China.

During a Sunday interview, Trump declined to predict if the U.S. will fall into a recession.

“I hate to predict things like that,” Trump told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo. “This is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big.”

There’s concern among analysts and experts that a recession is coming after underwhelming jobs numbers for February, potential price hikes via the tariffs and stocks dropping.

Haberman noted that business leaders use the stock market to determine a president’s success, and there are complaints about Trump’s varying communication about the economy.

“There has been a lot of private complaints, from allies, and from business leaders, privately, that people are getting an inconsistent message from the president about his policies and about how he’s implementing his policies,” Haberman said.

She noted that it’s “candid” that Trump admitted he can’t rule out a recession is coming, but said it was still a “striking” message from the president because he usually speaks more confidently about the economic outlook.

“I don’t think that he has a clear strategy,” Haberman said.

Haberman noted there are several theories as to what Trump’s plan will be, but she said she believes it’s because he is a “big believer in tariffs.”

“It’s the thing he has been talking about consistently as a tool for leveling the economic playing field for … more than 40 years,” she said. “So, it shouldn’t surprise anybody that he is going ahead with it.”

The difference between Trump’s first term and the current economic standing is that “there are a not a ton of dissenting voices” that will push back, Haberman said.