For Trump, 10,000 Is His Favorite Number When Making Big Claims

  • President invokes it for stock market, ISIS fighters, migrants
  • A big round number helps sway an audience, professor says

Donald Trump

Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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When President Donald Trump wants to convey that something is a big deal, he often reaches for the same big number: 10,000.

He says it’s the number of points the Dow Jones Industrial Average would be up had the Federal Reserve not raised interest rates. It’s the number of people attending his rallies -- or the number forced to wait outside because they couldn’t get in.