Is Donald Trump actually in the driver seat in regards to the market? What actually drives the stock market is his republican policies which are pro market and pro business. He wants to cut regulation and taxes on corporations and even small businesses. It’s not him who drives the market, he’s just the face of the republican movement, implementing policy. However he does have the ability to effect the market in short term ways, inciting fear in to certain sectors and messing with them for a small period of time.