WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Donald Trump’s tariffs roil global markets, some of the thought leaders and influential podcasters who backed the Republican’s campaign are voicing doubts. Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and even Elon Musk are adding their voices to a number of congressional Republicans who have weighed in against the tariffs set to take effect on Wednesday. Here’s a look at some of what they’ve said:
Ben Shapiro
The conservative commentator — who initially backed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in last year’s GOP presidential primary before lending his support to Trump — said Saturday on the “All-In” podcast that he saw “contradictory” claims as to what Trump’s tariff proposals are intended 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 said. In a video posted Monday to his more than 7 million subscribers on YouTube, Shapiro reiterated that argument and said that the idea that tariffs are good and make us rich is “really problematic.” “The idea that this is inherently good and makes the American economy strong is wrongheaded,” Shapiro said. “It’s untrue. The idea that it is going to result in massive re-shoring of manufacturing is also untrue.”
Dave Portnoy
“Welcome to Orange Monday,” Portnoy said on his “Davey Day Trader” financial livestream, just before markets opened this week, saying there’s “no political agenda” to his commentary, other than to make money. After last week’s market plunge, Portnoy said he had lost $7 million “in stocks and crypto,” a figure he estimated on Monday was likely closer to $20 million, or up to 15% of his net worth. But, Portnoy has said, he plans to stick with Trump, whom he has called “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 said last 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 and gambling newspaper, Barstool has grown into a digital platform covering sports, lifestyle, and entertainment, with hundreds of millions of followers. Portnoy has been a loyal Trump supporter since first endorsing him in 2016, interviewing the president at the White House in 2020.
Joe Rogan
Rogan, one of the nation’s most influential podcasters who endorsed Trump on the eve of last year’s election, said in March that Trump’s feud with Canada was “stupid” and bemoaned the fact that Canadians “booed us over tariffs” during professional sporting events featuring teams from both countries. Rogan has recently broken with Trump in other areas, including over wide-ranging deportations, referring to a recent operation to detain immigrants as “horrific.” Just weeks before Election Day, Rogan taped a nearly three-hour podcast interview with Trump, an opportunity for the Republican nominee to highlight the hypermasculine tone that defined much of his 2024 White House bid.
Bill Ackman
The pro-Trump hedge fund manager warned Sunday on X that “we are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter” unless Trump took a more deliberate approach, likening the full tariff activation “economic nuclear war.” In another post later Sunday, Ackman assailed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as “indifferent to the stock market and the economy crashing.” The next day, Ackman apologized for his criticism claiming that Lutnick — previously the head of the financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald — could benefit from the tariffs because of its bond investments. But the hedge fund manager also reiterated his concerns 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.
Elon Musk
Even the billionaire top adviser to Trump on overhauling the federal government is expressing skepticism about tariffs, which he has said would drive up costs for Tesla, his electric 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 said in a video conference with Italian politicians. On Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said that Musk “doesn’t understand” the situation. Musk fired back on Tuesday, calling Navarro “truly a moron” and “dumber than a sack of bricks.”
