I believe in the power of narratives, because humans have used narratives for thousands of years to survive. Ben Hunt of Epsilon Theory is insightful at this kind of thing, even analyzing media for certain keywords that signal narrative turns (for instance, "Clinton emails" got an exponentially outsized coverage compared to any of Trump's perceived or real scandals). Setting aside the politics and facts, it was the STORY that changed things.
The last two years, the STORY on the financial sites and news was "Tax cuts and deregulation! Hooray!" And even the Fed raising rates was seen as a sign of health, and the specter of a trade war was even seen as a necessary evil that wouldn't matter because it was in everyone's best interest to make a deal.
What is the story now? Trade war bad, Fed bad, Trump bad. Not a whole lot has changed in the economic data, but a massive psychological shift occurred somewhere along the line. Hunt also does a lot of Game Theory, and he believes Trump doesn't play a Cooperation Game, he plays a Competition Game. Everything is about "winning," especially for himself. And he's playing a game of chicken. Does anyone expect he would be the first to turn the wheel to avert a head-on collision?
Every ham-handed attempt to calm markets is likely to backfire spectacularly. Can you name one presidential action that would restore your confidence today? We're one Russian invasion of Ukraine away from a recession that is likely underway already. One day we'll look back on this and laugh painfully, but we'll never live in a country again where this madness didn't happen.