Comedians needle 'non-braggadocious' Trump as he touts economy while stocks plummet
Comedians let Trump have it for bragging about the economy as stocks fell.
-- President Donald Trump opened himself up to scrutiny on Monday as he boasted about the booming economy, tying its growth to legislation that he signed into law, while the U.S. stock market took a record-breaking dive at the same time.
"When I signed the tax cut, six weeks ago, it set off a tidal wave of good news that continues to grow every single day," Trump said Monday, while speaking at a manufacturing company in Blue Ash, Ohio. "Before the ink was dry, companies were announcing thousands and thousands of new jobs and enormous investments to their workers."
"You know, you can work hard, but if you don't have the right leader setting the right tone, in all fairness -- I'm not even saying. I am non-braggadocious,” he added.
Late-night comedians were quick to point out the irony, with some showing side-by-side images of Trump bragging about economic gains as the Dow plunged 1,175 points, marking its largest single-day point drop.
"The stock market Trump has been taking credit for was down today by more than 1,100 points," "Live" host Jimmy Kimmel noted Tuesday. "But that didn't keep the president away from his pat-myself-on-the-back tour."
"The president says a lot of things that aren't true, but this might be the most blatant, brazen, almost magnificent fabrication ever to come out of his orange mouth," Kimmel added, referring to Trump's claim of being "non-braggadocious."
"Late Night with Seth Meyers" also pounced on the opportunity to mock the president's speech in Ohio.
"We all know Donald Trump has a well-documented history of overreaching and bragging about things that quickly turn out to be either exaggerated or outright fabrications," Meyers said Monday. "He just can't help himself. If he fell down a flight of stairs, he would brag that he found the fastest way down."
The Trump administration defended the president's comments. When asked about the record stock drop on Monday, Vice President Mike Pence said he remained confident.
"We couldn't be more proud of fact that stock market increased by thousands since election, but today's selloff represents the ebb and flow of markets," Pence told reporters late Monday. "Most important numbers to focus on are fundamentals, and those continue to be strong. Jobs were created and unemployment is at a low."