Trump Billionaire Megadonor Ken Griffin Calls President’s Tariffs ‘A Huge Mistake’

by Angie SchlagerFebruary 15, 2025, 12:04 amNews >

Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, who gave $100 million to President Donald Trump‘s campaign, said the president’s tariff policy could risk damage to the U.S.’s economic growth and force other countries to find new trade partners. Griffin called Trump’s rhetoric “bombastic” and openly criticized some of Trump’s policies on immigration and tariffs.

“From my vantage point, the bombastic rhetoric, the damage has already been done, and it’s a huge mistake to resort to this form of rhetoric when you’re trying to drive a bargain, because it like imprints, it sears into the minds of CEOs, policymakers,” Griffin said at a UBS conference in Miami. “The uncertainty and chaos created by the tariff dynamics between us and our allies is an impediment to growth. It makes it difficult for multinationals in particular to think about how to plan for the next five, 10, 15, 20 years.”

The billionaire hedge fund founder’s remarks came in light of Trump’s announcement on Monday of a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports “without exceptions or exemptions.” The president previously imposed 10% tariffs on all goods from China. He has also made prior threats to Canada and Mexico to put 25% tariffs on goods from those countries but backed off of those after a negative reaction in the stock market.

According to Griffin, the tariffs dull America’s competitive edge, and a tax on Canadian energy products could force Canada to expand its customer base and find new trading partners like China.

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Griffin, however, said that he is thankful from “the bottom of my heart” for Elon Musk‘s role in the Trump administration’s efforts to cut government waste through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

“He will do what it takes to win,” Griffin said about Musk. “Thank you for making the commitment that you are making to help to rectify the reckless and wasteful spending in Washington, DC.”

Griffin also commented on Trump’s peace plans for the war in Ukraine. He said that he believes the West must give Russian President Vladimir Putin an “off ramp” to end the war in Ukraine.