President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE on Friday joked about a precipitous drop in the stock market following a series of tweets lashing out at China, quipping that it was perhaps spurred by Rep. Seth Moulton Seth MoultonOvernight Defense: Nearly 500 former national security officials formally back Biden | 40 groups call on House panel to investigate Pentagon's use of coronavirus funds The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - Markey defeats Kennedy; Trump lauds America's enforcers in Wisconsin Moulton fends off primary challenges in Massachusetts MORE (D-Mass.) dropping out of the Democratic presidential primary.

"The Dow is down 573 points perhaps on the news that Representative Seth Moulton, whoever that may be, has dropped out of the 2020 Presidential Race!" Trump tweeted.

The Dow is down 573 points perhaps on the news that Representative Seth Moulton, whoever that may be, has dropped out of the 2020 Presidential Race! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2019

Moulton, a former Marine and three-term congressman, announced Friday morning he would no longer seek the Democratic nomination. He told reporters in response to Trump's tweet that he's "glad [Trump] thinks I have more influence on the Dow than he does."

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average had lost roughly 2 percentage points on the day amid an escalation of the trade war between the U.S. and China. The S&P 500 was similarly down roughly 2 percent for the day, and the NASDAQ had lost nearly 3 percentage points.

The sell-off began after Trump tweeted earlier Friday that he wanted U.S. companies to seek "an alternative" to doing business in China after Beijing pledged to impose $75 billion in retaliatory tariffs on American cars, farm products and other goods.

"Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA," Trump tweeted.

He promised a response to the Chinese tariffs on Friday afternoon, though he had not announced one as of 3 p.m. and the White House has not indicated there will be a formal statement.

The president does not have the authority to dictate how private businesses operate, though his request was not entirely new. Trump has for years attempted to persuade U.S. companies to do more business domestically, and has increased those efforts through the implementation of tariffs.