Trump official didn’t confirm a tariff pause, but markets rallied amid false headlines

Editor’s note: On April 9, President Donald Trump announced a 90-day delay for some tariffs on all countries, except China, a reversal of his previous stance. On April 7, the White House had dismissed rumors of Trump considering a 90-day pause as "fake news." 

White House officials never publicly mentioned a 90-day pause of President Donald Trump's tariffs on April 7, but X posts falsely saying they did contributed to a brief multi-trillion dollar stock market rally. 

Verified X accounts that cover markets attributed reports of the supposed pause to National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, who had appeared on Fox News that morning. The posts — the first of which was shared at 10:11 a.m. — shared a significantly exaggerated version of Hassett’s response to an interview question about a 90-day pause. That incorrect information was echoed in web headlines and cable outlets that cover the markets. 

One larger X account said its post was based on a news headline from an outlet it did not identify. It’s still unclear where that purported headline originated; the markets started climbing at 10:09 a.m., shortly before the first X posts shared the 90-day tariff pause claim.

The rumored tariff relief boosted the market after days of dips since Trump announced across-the-board tariffs on trade partners April 2. 

Here’s how the rumor spread before the Trump White House addressed it.

How distorted remarks shared on X fed headlines, CNBC commentary

At about 8:30 a.m. E.T., "Fox & Friends" host Brian Kilmeade asked Hassett whether the administration would consider a 90-day pause on tariffs. 

"Yeah, you know, I think the president is going to decide what the president’s going to decide," Hassett said. "There are more than 50 countries in negotiation with the president. We’ve got the prime minister of Israel coming today. We’ve had a reach out overnight from Taiwan. But I would urge everyone — especially (Bill Ackman) — to ease off the rhetoric a little bit." (Ackman, a billionaire who endorsed Trump, said the president’s policies might trigger a "self-induced economic nuclear winter.")

The distortion of Hassett’s remarks appeared to start with the X account Hammer Capital at 10:11 a.m. 

"Hassett: Trump is considering a 90-day pause in tariffs for all countries except China," the account posted in all capital letters. Then, in lowercase text: "Mother of all squeezes incoming." 

Hammer Capital had nearly 700 followers April 7, and the account’s blue check mark shows that its owner is an X Premium subscriber.

Two minutes later, the "Walter Bloomberg" X account shared a red siren emoji and the same purported Hassett statement in all capital letters. The anonymous account, with 850,000 followers, primarily posts Bloomberg Terminal headlines about the markets. Although it isn’t affiliated with Bloomberg News, TechCrunch reported it has been considered a reliable source of business news.

A 10:14 a.m. article on ForexLive, a market news and analysis website, warned that the viral headline’s source was unclear even though the headline was being shared "everywhere."

Around the same time, CNBC anchors attempted to explain a sudden market rally. 

"Apparently, Hassett’s been saying that Trump will consider a 90-day pause in tariffs for all countries except for China," said CNBC anchor Carl Quintanilla. 

Jeremy Siegel, a frequent CNBC guest and Wharton School professor emeritus of finance, said: "Oh, well that’s huge. I mean that changes the game." 

"We’ll try and source that exactly in terms of where that’s coming from," CNBC host David Faber said. A few moments later, a CNBC chyron repeated the claim circulating on X. After those initial mentions, CNBC reporters discussing the reported headline repeatedly said that the White House had not confirmed the news.

A CNBC spokesperson said later that as the network reported the market news in real-time, it had aired unconfirmed information in a graphic. Within about 20 minutes of its original report, CNBC’s senior Washington correspondent Eamon Javers made an on-air correction.

Next, Reuters ran a story crediting CNBC. The newswire later withdrew the story, according to an archived version of the link.

"Reuters, drawing from a headline on CNBC, published a story on April 7 saying White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett had said that President Donald Trump was considering a 90-day tariff pause on all countries except China," the story said. "The White House denied the report. Reuters has withdrawn the incorrect report and regrets its error."

At 10:33 a.m., CNBC’s Javers reported that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told him the 90-day pause chatter was "fake news."

By 10:38 a.m., the White House’s Rapid Response 47 X account also dismissed claims of an upcoming 90-day tariff pause.

Featured Fact-check

Facebook posts

stated on March 19, 2025 in una publicación en Facebook

El presidente Donald Trump “firma orden ejecutiva para obligar a los bancos a que les quiten un 10% de dinero” de sus ahorros a los inmigrantes.

Wrong. Not only did Director Hassett not say this (clip below), @POTUS has been clear — "it all has to change, but especially with CHINA!!!" https://t.co/3Kvt8AScAZ pic.twitter.com/JHucHjZm3S

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 7, 2025

The original source of the information remains unclear 

Searching Google and the Nexis news database, we found no credible reports the Trump administration publicly considered a 90-day tariff pause. 

In response to journalists’ questions on X, the account Hammer Capital did not provide the source of the information in its initial X post. At almost 1 p.m., the account said it had been "regurgitating what the market was reacting to" after "trading desks started sending out this headline at 10:09." PolitiFact messaged Hammer Capital on X and received no response. 

The Walter Bloomberg account owner also did not respond to our email inquiry asking for the source of its post. The account owner told The Wall Street Journal they first saw the headline at 10:09 a.m. Those who run the Walter Bloomberg account found a 10:12 a.m. X post from another stock market-focused account and, "given the market movement," determined the headline must be credible and shared it, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

For the media, the incident revealed reporting difficulties when facing "a highly volatile stock market," said Jane Kirtley, a University of Minnesota professor of media ethics and law. She said the "missing piece" for news organizations was getting a response from the White House before publishing the original stories. 

"The White House may not have been immediately forthcoming, but ultimately, news organizations should do everything possible to confirm a rumor — especially one with the implications this one had," she said. 

Our ruling

X posts say Hassett said, "Trump is considering a 90-day pause in tariffs for all countries except China." 

The posts appear to have been amplifying a distortion of a noncommittal response Hassett gave on "Fox & Friends" to a question about the possibility of a 90-day tariff pause. We found no credible reports that the Trump administration was ever considering a 90-day tariff pause. 

The White House responded to a post echoing this claim on X, writing, "Wrong. Fake News."

We rate this claim False. 

PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

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