Trump clip resurfaces as strategist forecasts S&P 500 near 8,000

A year-old Oval Office clip of Donald Trump telling reporters on May 8, 2025, “You better go out and buy stock now… Let me tell you, this country will be like a rocket ship that goes straight up” has resurfaced on crypto social feeds. Edited reels appended “and crypto” and spread across social platforms.

Dr. James Thorne, chief market strategist at Wellington-Altus Private Wealth, published a forecast that ran alongside the recycled clip. Thorne projected the S&P 500 at about 8,000 by the end of 2026, with upside toward 8,400, a target of 10,000 in 2027 and roughly 14,000 by the close of the decade if productivity gains continue.

Thorne attributed the projected gains to an AI-driven capital expenditure cycle he calls a “Cap Ex Super cycle,” centered on spending for data centers, power grids, nuclear capacity and critical minerals. He described the buildout as an industrial-scale effort to support higher productivity rather than a repeat of past late-cycle excess.

Thorne pointed to first-quarter 2026 corporate results as supporting evidence. Quarterly earnings across Corporate America rose about 27%, compared with roughly 12% growth analysts had forecast, a gap he said reflects underestimated margin leverage from AI investments.

Markets moved this week. The S&P 500 traded near 7,360 on May 12 after hitting a record above 7,400 earlier in the week, leaving Thorne’s 8,000 target roughly 8% above current levels. Bitcoin traded near $80,000 on the same day and slipped after the president rejected an Iranian peace proposal.

The resurfaced clip circulated among crypto traders and analysts alongside other bullish forecasts and policy developments affecting digital assets. The Senate Banking Committee scheduled a markup on the CLARITY Act, and prediction markets assigned about a 73% chance the bill becomes law in 2026.

Observers noted rallies in companies tied to semiconductors, rare earths, copper and lithium. One estimate cited roughly $20 billion of federal commitments to firms including Intel, MP Materials, Trilogy Metals and Lithium Americas and identified about a $47 billion increase linked to a presidential stake in Intel since August.

Thorne summarized his investment theme on social platforms with the phrase “Retooling America, a productivity boom.” The repurposed Oval Office clip has circulated widely alongside his projections.

Asset prices reflect current expectations for higher corporate investment and potential regulatory changes, leaving investors to weigh the odds that increased capital expenditure and clearer rules will support further gains.