Trump treats Wall Street gains as a second-term scorecard

President Donald Trump rang the stock market’s opening bell from the Oval Office on July 6. The ceremony marked the official launch of Trump Accounts, a savings program free to open for every U.S. citizen under 18 and giving children born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028, a $1,000 seed investment.

Trump said about $800 million in new capital would be invested in the stock market for America’s children that week. The Treasury Department set every account’s default investment to the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF, known as SPYM, with additional low-cost index-fund choices including IVV, VTI, SPTM and ITOT. Treasury data show more than six million families had signed up before the program’s official launch.

38% of American families have no exposure to equity markets. Gallup’s 2025 survey found 62% of U.S. adults reported owning stock, including holdings inside retirement accounts. The Federal Reserve’s 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances found the typical White family had about six times as much wealth as the typical Black family and five times as much as the typical Hispanic family.

Trump has increasingly pointed to rising equities as proof that his policies are working, including the Iran conflict, sweeping global tariffs and domestic legislation. The administration has also taken equity stakes or revenue-sharing arrangements in companies such as Intel, U.S. Steel, Nvidia and AMD.