Trump's tariffs set off a global stock disaster, but US Vice President Pence called it "the pain of surgery."

When Trump's tariffs hit the global trading system, the US stock market was the first to withstand a "seismic" impact. The S&P 500 index plummeted by 4.8%, marking the largest single-day drop in nearly five years; the Dow Jones index plunged 1679 points, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index fell by almost 6%. At the same time, global stock markets also did not escape unscathed. As of the time of writing, the Nikkei 225 index fell by over 3%, the South Korea KOSPI index fell by nearly 2%, and the Thailand SET index widened its decline to 2%. Faced with the severe market reaction, US Vice President Pence attempted to downplay the impact with a "surgical optimism". He quoted Trump's metaphor, saying: "This is like performing surgery on a terminally ill patient, now is the beginning of recovery." This political rising star even predicted that after the "temporary pain" brought by tariffs, the US would usher in a "long-term prosperity" in the stock market, because "we are reinvesting in America". However, this optimistic prediction is starkly contrasted with harsh reality. On the same day Pence made these comments, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Georgieva issued a rare stern warning, directly pointing out that Trump's comprehensive tariff policy "poses significant risks at a time of global economic weakness". This economist rarely used the strong language of "must avoid", calling on all parties to "stop actions that harm the world economy". What is even more chilling to the market is that JPMorgan Chase's chief economist slashed the probability of a global economic recession risk from 40% to 60% this year. This Wall Street authority stated in the report that Trump's tariffs are "the largest tax increase since 1968", and its chain reaction will trigger a triple shockwave: trading partners retaliating escalating into a full-blown trade war, corporate confidence collapsing to dampen investment, and global supply chain restructuring pushing up inflation. Despite this, the White House continues to show astonishing firmness in Trump's tariff game. Even as global stock markets are in turmoil, the US still insists on launching the lowest tariffs on April 5th at midnight and raising tariffs on trade deficit countries on April 9th. This "divide and conquer" policy has forced the IMF and World Bank to urgently coordinate, trying to prevent the global economy from "decoupling from the United States" at the upcoming spring meeting. As the tariff shockwave sweeps across the globe, the most devastating battleground appears in the stock market. The S&P 500 index suffered its largest drop since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, tech giants Apple Inc. (AAPL.US), Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US), and NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) plunged by over 9%, while NIKE, Inc. Class B (NKE.US) plummeted by 14.5%. The small-cap benchmark index Russell 2000 fell by 6.5%, officially entering a bear market. Wall Street investment banks are collectively bearish, with institutions like Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and Merrill Lynch listing "tariffs causing recession" as a baseline prediction scenario. In this war without gunfire, Pence's optimistic predictions seem out of place. As Trump's tariff scalpel cuts through the global economy, what remains is the wound of recovery or the fatal crack? Global investors are holding their breath waiting for the answer.