Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller has not hidden his distaste for President Donald Trump’s epic tariff plan. He blasted the measure, which features tax rates of up to 50%. In another exceptional post on the social media platform X, Druckenmiller doubled down on his opposition to tariffs above 10%. This joint statement comes at an especially pivotal moment. As of Saturday morning, 10% baseline tariffs went into effect on all but about a dozen countries.
Yet Trump just wrote on Truth Social the other day that the ultimate outcome of the tariffs would be “historic.” He summoned supporters to “HANG TOUGH,” a recognition of difficult days to come but an insistence to remain in faith for the victory. Now that the tariffs have started to shake up global trade patterns, fears about their negative impacts on American consumers and the overall economy are growing.
White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett soothed those fears by downplaying the tariffs. So, we say, good luck with that, Zeke, because you boldly claimed that they will have no real effect on American consumers. Druckenmiller’s financial insights suggest otherwise. He views tariffs as “simply a consumption tax that foreigners pay for some of it,” indicating that higher tariffs could ultimately affect American consumers more than anticipated.
Further, Druckenmiller has always been clear that he opposes any tariffs over the 10% level. In January, during an interview on CNBC, he articulated his stance clearly: “I do not support tariffs exceeding 10% which I made abundantly clear in the interview you cite.” He further elaborated that keeping tariffs within this range could mitigate risks: “As long as we stay in the 10% range,…I think the risks are overblown relative to the rewards, the rewards on high, it’s more like they’re the lesser of two evils.”
The financial community has been waiting with bated breath to see how this all plays out. In fact, stock prices have plunged since the day that Trump announced his tariffs. Druckenmiller’s latest comments distance him from Trump’s strategy, suggesting a divergence in economic philosophy despite his previous support for Republican candidate Nikki Haley. Druckenmiller co-hosted a fundraiser for Haley while she was still in the Republican primary, a strong indicator of his influence and desire to shape economic policy.