Trump phoned bank CEOs as stock market plunged Wednesday: report

President Trump held a conference call with the CEOs of the three largest U.S. banks on Wednesday, conferring with them as the stock market plunged, Bloomberg News reported Friday.

People with knowledge of the situation told Bloomberg that Trump’s call with J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan and Citigroup’s Michael Corbat came as the Dow Jones Industrial Average tanked 800 points, or 3 percent, its worst drop of the year.

{mosads}The three executives were already in Washington for a previously scheduled meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The president conducted the phone call from his resort in Bedminster, N.J.

People familiar with the matter told CNBC that the executives informed Trump that the ongoing trade war with China was hindering consumer and corporate spending. The president was reportedly receptive to the idea that the trade dispute is harming corporate confidence.

The call, which reportedly lasted roughly 20 minutes, also covered the Federal Reserve and the global economic slowdown that has led several central banks to ease monetary conditions.

The White House declined The Hill’s request for comment.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that Trump has been privately reaching out to corporate leaders amid concerns an economic downturn could hurt his reelection chances next year.

Publicly, however, the president has boasted of high economic strength and confidence, saying that concerns are fueled by “fake news,” while openly accusing the Fed of hindering growth by not cutting interest rates quickly enough.

The Fake News Media is doing everything they can to crash the economy because they think that will be bad for me and my re-election. The problem they have is that the economy is way too strong and we will soon be winning big on Trade, and everyone knows that, including China!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 15, 2019