On April 2, Donald Trump declared “Liberation Day,” marking the beginning of a new tariff regime that he promised would transform the American economy and its place in the world. Liberation appears to have been short-lived — as of April 9, Trump has announced a ninety-day pause on the tariff policies enacted with such fanfare the week prior, after billionaires, CEOs, and financial markets delivered a clear message: these tariffs threaten profits, and that’s unacceptable.
Trump’s initial tariffs stunned global markets with their unexpected severity. Investment firms holding trillions in multinational corporate stocks watched their portfolios hemorrhage value overnight. Stock markets plummeted, with the Dow dropping over 1,300 points and the S&P 500 entering bear market territory. More than $270 billion was wiped from the net worths of the world’s billionaires in a single day, with Trump’s top ten billionaire donors alone losing over $10 billion on Thursday. By Monday, JPMorgan Chase raised its odds of a recession from 40 percent to 60 percent.
Financial elites were in open rebellion. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who in January had urged people to “get over” Trump’s tariff policies, reversed course, warning in his annual shareholder letter that the tariffs would “slow down growth.” BlackRock CEO Larry Fink claimed that “most CEOs I talk to say we’re in a recession right now.” Even Elon Musk, one of Trump’s most prominent supporters and advisors, shared anti-tariff content and reportedly lobbied Trump directly to abandon the policy. As Trump described it, “People were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippy . . . a little bit afraid.”
The chorus of yips grew by the hour. Bill Ackman,…
Auteur: Meagan Day
