Billionaire Republican mega-donor Ken Langone whacked President Trump's tariffs as "bulls‑‑‑" and questioned the White House's approach to calculating them in a new interview published Monday.
"I don’t understand the goddamn formula," Langone, a co-founder of Home Depot, told the Financial Times. "I believe he’s been poorly advised by his advisers about this trade situation — and the formula they’re applying."
Trump unveiled his sweeping tariff plan last week during a ceremony at the White House. It levies hefty import taxes on most goods from other countries, including ally nations, in an attempt to rectify trade deficits. The tariffs will go into effect at midnight, but they already have created economic turmoil around the uncertainty, as countries attempt to retaliate or negotiate for better deals.
Trump has repeatedly defended his plan, even as stocks plummeted and business leaders voiced concerns.
"We’re going to get fair deals and good deals with everybody. And if we don’t, we’re going to have nothing to do with them," Trump said Monday. "They’re not going to be allowed to participate in the United States."
Trump called critics of his plan "panicans," which he defined on social media as "a new party based on Weak and Stupid people!"
But Langone slammed the rollout and the formula. He cited the 46 percent tariff on Vietnam, calling it an example of "bulls‑‑‑" in the plan and said the 34 percent rate on goods from China is "too aggressive, too soon."
"Forty-six percent on Vietnam? Come on," the businessman, who has contributed to Trump's campaign, told the Financial Times. "You might as well tell them, 'Don’t even bother calling.'"
He also said the rollout of the tariff plan, which was much more drastic than anticipated, prevented "serious negotiations" with China.
China’s Ministry of Commerce characterized Trump’s tariffs as “completely groundless” and "a typical unilateral bullying practice," in a statement Tuesday.
The country’s leaders have vowed to counter tariffs from the U.S. with equally robust taxes on Chinese goods, presenting a possible tariff war as Trump has escalated his response.
"The U.S. threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake and once again exposes the blackmailing nature of the U.S. China will never accept this," it said. "If the U.S. insists on its own way, China will fight to the end."
Langone said a better approach would have been a 10 percent tariff on imports, followed by direct negotiations with individual countries.
"Right now, what everybody’s terrified of is a tariff war," he said.
Langone's remarks follow other business leaders who also have taken aim at the Trump administration's tariff overhaul.
“The consequences for our country and the millions of our citizens who have supported the president — in particular low-income consumers who are already under a huge amount of economic stress — are going to be severely negative," billionaire hedge fund investor and Trump supporter Bill Ackman wrote in a lengthy social media post Sunday. "This is not what we voted for."