Joe Rogan, Ben Shapiro And Elon Musk Among Major Trump Backers Now Questioning Tariffs | EUROtoday

WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Donald Trump’s tariffs roil world markets, a number of the thought leaders and influential podcasters who backed the Republican’s marketing campaign are voicing doubts.

Barstool Sports proprietor Dave Portnoy, hedge fund supervisor Bill Ackman and even Elon Musk are including their voices to various congressional Republicans who’ve weighed in in opposition to the tariffs set to take impact on Wednesday.

Here’s a take a look at a few of what they’ve mentioned:

The conservative commentator — who initially backed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in final yr’s GOP presidential major earlier than lending his assist to Trump — mentioned Saturday on the “All-In” podcast that he noticed “contradictory” claims as to what Trump’s tariff proposals are supposed to do.

“I think that the way that the tariff plan was rolled out is about as bad a rollout as you could do,” Shapiro mentioned.

In a video posted Monday to his greater than 7 million subscribers on YouTube, Shapiro reiterated that argument and mentioned that the concept that tariffs are good and make us wealthy is “really problematic.”

“The idea that this is inherently good and makes the American economy strong is wrongheaded,” Shapiro mentioned. “It’s untrue. The idea that it is going to result in massive re-shoring of manufacturing is also untrue.”

“Welcome to Orange Monday,” Portnoy mentioned on his “Davey Day Trader” monetary livestream, simply earlier than markets opened this week, saying there’s “no political agenda” to his commentary, apart from to make cash.

After final week’s market plunge, Portnoy mentioned he had misplaced $7 million “in stocks and crypto,” a determine he estimated on Monday was probably nearer to $20 million, or as much as 15% of his internet value.

But, Portnoy has mentioned, he plans to stay with Trump, whom he has referred to as “a smart guy.”

“I think they’re smarter than me when it comes to these tariffs. I also think he’s playing a high-stakes game here,” Portnoy mentioned final week on his livestream. “I’m gonna roll with him for a couple days, a couple weeks, see how this pans out.”

Founded by Portnoy in 2003 as a free sports activities and playing newspaper, Barstool has grown right into a digital platform protecting sports activities, life-style, and leisure, with lots of of tens of millions of followers. Portnoy has been a loyal Trump supporter since first endorsing him in 2016, interviewing the president on the White House in 2020.

Rogan, one of many nation’s most influential podcasters who endorsed Trump on the eve of final yr’s election, mentioned in March that Trump’s feud with Canada was “stupid” and bemoaned the truth that Canadians “booed us over tariffs” throughout skilled sporting occasions that includes groups from each nations.

Rogan has just lately damaged with Trump in different areas, together with over wide-ranging deportations, referring to a current operation to detain immigrants as “horrific.”

Just weeks earlier than Election Day, Rogan taped an almost three-hour podcast interview with Trump, a chance for the Republican nominee to focus on the hypermasculine tone that outlined a lot of his 2024 White House bid.

The pro-Trump hedge fund supervisor warned Sunday on X that “we are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter” except Trump took a extra deliberate strategy, likening the complete tariff activation “economic nuclear war.”

In one other put up later Sunday, Ackman assailed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as “indifferent to the stock market and the economy crashing.” The subsequent day, Ackman apologized for his criticism claiming that Lutnick — beforehand the top of the monetary agency Cantor Fitzgerald — may gain advantage from the tariffs due to its bond investments.

But the hedge fund supervisor additionally reiterated his issues about Trump’s tariffs.

“I am just frustrated watching what I believe to be a major policy error occur after our country and the president have been making huge economic progress that is now at risk due to the tariffs,” he wrote on X.

Even the billionaire high adviser to Trump on overhauling the federal authorities is expressing skepticism about tariffs, which he has mentioned would drive up prices for Tesla, his electrical automaker.

“I hope it is agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally in my view to a zero-tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America,” Musk mentioned in a video convention with Italian politicians.

On Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” White House commerce adviser Peter Navarro mentioned that Musk “doesn’t understand” the state of affairs.

Musk fired again on Tuesday, calling Navarro “truly a moron” and “dumber than a sack of bricks.”

Associated Press author Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report.