Several of America’s wealthiest and most influential corporate leaders who were once supporters of Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential bid now are ringing alarms about his populist tariff policies. As global markets reeled and economic uncertainty shot up, public figures like Elon Musk and Jamie Dimon were speaking out — but is the President listening?
Elon Musk’s Tariff U-Turn
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who has been widely known as Trump’s “First Buddy,” has been one of the most vocal critics despite being a close friend of the former president. Musk over the weekend advocated for “a zero-tariff situation” between the U.S. and Europe and wasn’t shy about taking digs at Trump’s top trade adviser. “Peter Navarro.ain’t built shit,” Musk bluntly said.
Navarro countered Musk’s criticism as self-serving, telling Fox News in an interview, “Elon when he’s in his Doge lane is wonderful, but we know what’s happening here. Elon sells cars. He’s just protecting his own interests.” He went on to add that despite Tesla having U.S.-based manufacturing plants, its supply chain remains highly foreign-reliant from China, Mexico, Japan, and Taiwan.
According to The Washington Post, Musk has also urged Trump in private meetings to drop the China-wide tariffs, but to no visible effect so far. Adding fuel to the controversy, Musk shared a video on X featuring economist Milton Friedman explaining the economic benefits of free trade through the global supply chain of an ordinary pencil.
This is one of the first large public break-ups between Trump and Musk. After Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, Tesla’s stock fell and Musk’s worth dropped by $31 billion on just last Friday alone. Shares of the company fell by nearly 5% on Monday to add to an astonishing $130 billion drop in Musk’s reported wealth this year.
Jamie Dimon Warns of Economic Fallout
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon also criticized Trump’s tariff proposals in his letter to shareholders each year. “The tariffs imposed recently will likely cause inflation and have many people believing there is a greater chance of a recession,” Dimon wrote. While the tariffs might not lead to a recession by themselves, they would “slow down growth,” he said.
He cautioned that Trump’s “America First” language might come back to haunt him. “America First is fine, as long as it doesn’t become America alone.” Dimon reiterated that military and economic ties go hand in hand: “It is extremely important to realize that security and economics are tied together – ‘economic’ warfare has given rise to military warfare in the past.”
Dimon advocated strategic partnerships through commerce, especially with countries like India and Brazil. “We don’t have to invite so many nonaligned countries, like India and Brazil, to align with us – but we can attract them to us by offering a friendly hand with trade and investment.”
The U.S. has imposed a 26% tariff on Indian products and 10% on those of Brazil today, although India is reportedly in an agreement in the making.
Ackman Calls It ‘Economic Nuclear War’
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who supported Trump’s presidential bid, issued a dire threat. He tweeted on X, “.by imposing huge and disproportionate tariffs on our friends and our enemies both and thus initiating a global economic war.we are in the process of destroying confidence in our country as a trading partner.”
He asked Trump to put the tariffs on hold for 90 days, allowing room for negotiation. “The president can call a 90-day timeout.and invite trillions of dollars of new investment in our country,” he further added. Otherwise, he warned, ‘we will very badly hurt our reputation with the rest of the world that will take years and maybe decades to recover from’.
Other Billionaires Sound Off
Home Depot cofounder Ken Langone condemned the big tariff spikes. Calling the 46% tariffs “bullshit” and ones on China “too aggressive, too soon,” he told Financial Times, “You might as well say, ‘Don’t even bother calling.’
Stanley Druckenmiller, founder of Duquesne Family Office and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent adviser, has been just as firm. “I don’t believe in tariffs above 10%,” he posted on X. Early this year, he told CNBC, “So long as we’re in the 10% range… the dangers are overestimated relative to the advantages.”
Daniel Loeb, veteran hedge fund manager, also backed an American Enterprise Institute study that was critical of Trump’s tariff policy. He posted on X, “Thoughtful piece on potential conceptual as well as practical errors. It will be a test of the administration’s judgment v. ideology.”
Fisher Investments executive chairman Ken Fisher was even more acerbic. He wrote, “What Trump revealed (last) Wednesday is stupid, wrong, arrogantly extreme, ignorant trade-wise and attacking a non-problem with misdirected tools.” He went on to say that while he does not normally comment on presidential gaffes, Trump’s tariff agenda was “beyond the pale by a long shot.”
Fisher clarifies, according to the subject’s argument, trade deficits are misunderstood, “Trade deficits have, in themselves, never been causal or predictive of anything. Ever. His claim they are ‘a loss’ is wrong. They are a non-problem.”
While financial markets remain unstable and recession fears grow, strong voices are increasingly challenging Trump’s combative trade policies. The chorus of dissent, led by some of his most ardent supporters is growing louder. Whether Trump will hear them out is yet to be determined.
