2 GOP Megadonors Turn On Donald Trump Over His Tariffs

Two billionaire Republican megadonors have called out President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs as a growing band of executives speak out publicly amid the policy crashing global markets.

Home Depot founder Ken Langone and Ken Griffin, another wealthy GOP supporter, expressed their unease with the trade war as even Trump’s right-hand man, Elon Musk, reportedly intervened to get the president to row back.

In an interview with The Financial Times published Monday, Langone said he was baffled by the much-derided calculations behind the import taxes.

“I don’t understand the goddamn formula,” Langone said.

“I believe he’s been poorly advised by his advisers about this trade situation — and the formula they’re applying.”

Langone added that the 46% tariff on Vietnam was “bullshit,” and the extra 34% tax on China was “too aggressive, too soon” and prevented “serious negotiations a chance to work.”

“Forty-six per cent on Vietnam? Come on!” said Langone. “You might as well tell them, ‘Don’t even bother calling.’”

Speaking at an event in Florida, Griffin called the tariffs a “huge policy mistake.”

Griffin said that families making $50,000 annually are being told, “it’s going to cost you 20%, 30%, 40% more for your groceries, for your toaster, for a new vacuum cleaner, for a new car.”

He added, “Even if the dream of jobs coming back to America plays out, that’s a 20-year dream. It’s not 20 weeks. It’s not two years. It’s decades.”

The comments come after billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, a vocal Trump supporter, warned that without a pause, the U.S. will launch an “economic nuclear war” that may cause business investment in America to “grind to a halt.”

Jamie Dimon, the CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase, said the tariffs “will likely increase inflation and are causing many to consider a greater probability of a recession.”

Despite stocks plunging, Trump and his closest advisers have dismissed concerns.

Trump on Monday told critics not to be “weak” or “stupid,” and insisted, “GREATNESS will be the result!”

Peter Navarro, Trump’s top trade adviser, gave a personal “guarantee” that the market’s upending tariffs will not trigger a recession.

Appearing on Fox News on Monday night, Navarro claimed the tanking stock market is “finding a bottom now.”

He added, “I guarantee no recession, OK? Why? Because when we pass the biggest, broadest tax cut in history within a matter of months, that’s going to be a great stimulus.”

On Tuesday morning, stocks rose on Wall Street and around the world to claw back some of the historic losses since Trump unveiled the tariffs last week.

CORRECTION: This story was amended to make clear Ken Griffen has only donated to Republican committees, and not directly to Trump’s campaign.