For better or worse, investors are living through Trump’s stock market. Here's why

President Donald Trump has been considered the ultimate stock market president , overseeing an expansion to numerous record highs while serving as a catalyst for major declines. Within the first two months of Trump's second term, the S&P 500 experienced one of the fastest falls to correction territory since World War II, spurred primarily by uncertainty surrounding his tariff policies. Not even a month later, the index almost closed in bear market territory on the heels of the president's "liberation day" tariff announcement . A correction is defined as a fall of at least 10% but less than 20% from its recent high, while a bear market is a drop of at least 20% or more on a closing basis. But the market has also recovered faster than the norm under Trump. When it comes to S&P 500 pullbacks of 5% to 9.9% from its peak, the two that have occurred since early 2025 have reversed faster than the median of 34 days, according to CFRA Research. That's a better rate of recovery compared than under any other president dating back to Ronald Reagan in 1981. "The bull market takes the stairs, whereas bear markets take the elevator," said Sam Stovall, CFRA Research's chief investment strategist. …