Billionaire investor Bill Ackman, who backed President Trump last year, has issued a blunt critique of the administration’s aggressive new tariff agenda, cautioning that the plan could push the economy into a downward spiral — with Trump’s own voter base suffering the most.
“Business is a confidence game. The president is losing the confidence of business leaders around the globe. The consequences for our country and the millions of our citizens who have supported the president — in particular low-income consumers who are already under a huge amount of economic stress — are going to be severely negative,” he wrote.
In a post on X, Ackman began by applauding Trump’s focus on reforming global trade policies, calling the American public “100%” supportive of leveling a trade system he believes is stacked against the United States.
However, he warned that while Trump succeeded in elevating the trade issue, “by placing massive and disproportionate tariffs on our friends and our enemies alike and thereby launching a global economic war against the whole world at once, we are in the process of destroying confidence in our country as a trading partner, as a place to do business, and as a market to invest capital,” Ackman wrote.
He suggested Trump consider a short pause in the tariff rollout — a “90-day time out” — during which negotiations could take place and the administration could seek to resolve unfair trade arrangements while also attracting significant new investment to the U.S.
Without that step, Ackman argued, and if the current course continues — a full-blown “economic nuclear war” against virtually every country — it could bring business activity to a standstill, crush consumer spending, and leave the U.S. with a badly damaged reputation that would take a long time to rebuild.
“What CEO and what board of directors will be comfortable making large, long-term, economic commitments in our country in the middle of an economic nuclear war? I don’t know of one who will do so.”
He cautioned that if markets tumble, the ripple effects could be devastating: “new investment stops, consumers stop spending money, and businesses have no choice but to curtail investment and fire workers.”
Stock indices have already suffered steep losses over two consecutive trading days following Trump’s tariff announcement, with futures also sharply lower on Sunday night as investors braced for Monday’s open.
Ackman said not only large corporations, but also startups and independent business owners, would be exposed to major financial pressure. He also challenged the idea that price increases would be limited — something White House officials have attempted to downplay.
“Almost no business can pass through an overnight massive increase in costs to their customers. And that’s true even if they have no debt, and, unfortunately, there is a massive amount of leverage in the system,” he wrote.
He further warned that the very people who have stood by Trump could end up bearing the brunt of the fallout.
“This is not what we voted for. The President has an opportunity on Monday to call a time out and have the time to execute on fixing an unfair tariff system. Alternatively, we are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter, and we should start hunkering down. May cooler heads prevail.”
{Matzav.com}