HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Monday marked another volatile day on Wall Street. The U.S. stock market closed lower following President Trump's latest tariff threats.
Markets briefly rallied yesterday as rumors spread that President Trump may pause the tariffs. The White House squashed the rumor, vowing to keep the tariffs in place.
All eyes are on Wall Street as Americans now look to see what Tuesday will bring to the stock market.
Republican lawmakers are urging Americans to be patient.
”I think everybody needs to actually let this play out a little bit," said Republican Representative Byron Donalds.
Florida GOP Chair Evan Power echoed that message.
"If this is what it takes to neutralize that, I think working-class families will be appreciative, and if there's any downside, it's on a temporary, momentary basis, and then the economy is going to right itself because we're going to fix the American economy for the long run for our working families," Power said.
Florida Democrats are saying the opposite.
"Just months into Trump’s presidency, we’ve already seen the sort of havoc it can wreak," Representative Fentrice Driskell said.
She said that President Trump's tariffs are hurting Floridians.
Meanwhile, we are hearing concerns from some voices in our community, especially those living off of retirement funds. Diane Busto is retired and living off of her 401k.
“I can’t afford to lose money out of that. It has to last me for so long," she said.
Many are seeing a decrease in their 401k, so we brought this to a financial adviser. He said if you are worried about making ends meet, you could set aside some cash for the next year or so, but he recommends talking to a financial adviser because everyone's situation is different.
In the meantime, he said it is a good idea to keep your money in the stock market.
"Markets traditionally come back…they will come back and pull back up, so if you sell now, you're going to be forced to sell low," Mark Vernick said.
"If there had just been a trooper up there, maybe this whole thing could have been avoided."
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