Trump's tariffs sparked blowback from all corners of his MAGA base
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President Trump in the Oval Office on April 7. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
President Trump's decision to pause many of the sweeping tariffs he announced only a week ago comes after all corners of the MAGAverse soured on financial earthquakes the levies unleashed.
The big picture: The self-inflicted market meltdown rattled Trump's allies across Wall Street, Silicon Valley billionaires like Elon Musk, anxious congressional Republicans and even supportive podcasters in the Manosphere.
- Investors sought an "off-ramp" from the tariffs markets showing extremely rare volatility.
- The magnitude of the tariffs caught the markets off guard, leading some major Wall Street banks and economists to predict a recession.
Zoom in: There are a long list of Trump allies speaking out against the tariffs over the past week.
Congressional Republicans balk at tariffs
Republican lawmakers were desperate to see Trump at least nudge the brakes and calm the markets.
- In a significant break with the president, at least a dozen House Republicans considered signing onto Rep. Don Bacon's (R-Neb.) bill to restrict the White House's ability to impose tariffs unilaterally, Axios reported.
- The Senate had voted on a similar measure to block Trump's tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, with four Republicans joining Democrats in voting yes.
- 57% of voters — including a quarter of Republicans — opposed the new tariffs, a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted over the weekend found. 39% of Americans support them.
Wall Street clamored for calm
Wall Street titans, including some of Trump's wealthy allies, have publicly urged caution as the tariffs tanked stock markets globally.
- DOGE leader Elon Musk, who has taken a multi-billion-dollar blow to his Tesla stock, called for more free trade this weekend, envisioning "a zero-tariff situation" between the U.S. and Europe. He's also publicly sniped at Trump tariff advocate Peter Navarro.
- Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, had warned of "economic nuclear winter" but praised Trump after announcement of the pause, saying, "This was brilliantly executed," adding, "Textbook, Art of the Deal."
- Prior to the pause, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon predicted a recession and for defaults to rise as Trump's tariffs roil global financial markets.
- Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller said that he doesn't support tariffs "exceeding 10%," the level of global levies Trump left in place.
- Howard Marks, co-founder of hedge fund Oaktree Capital, told Bloomberg the tariffs brought on the "biggest change in the environment" he's observed in his career.
MAGA podcasters soured on tariffs
Popular podcasters supporting Trump also voiced displeasure with the tariffs.
- Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro said on an episode of his "All-In" podcast that he thinks "the way that the tariff plan was rolled out is about as bad a rollout as you could do." He told his 7 million YouTube subscribers that the idea that tariffs are good and make the American economy strong "is wrongheaded."
- Podcaster Joe Rogan, who endorsed Trump's 2024 bid, called the president's feud with Canada "stupid" last month and lamented that Canadians "booed us over tariffs" during sporting events.
Go deeper: Trump scales back tariffs, except on China
