A major GOP megadonor warned President Donald Trump that his administration’s actions were “eroding” the U.S. brand.
Citadel Founder and CEO Ken Griffin reminded Trump at a conference hosted by Semafor Wednesday that “the United States was more than just a nation, it’s a universal brand.”
“Whether it’s our culture, our financial strength, our military strength, America rose beyond just being a country,” Griffin said. “It was like an aspiration for most [of] the world, and we’re eroding that brand right now.”
The multi-billion hedge fund CEO, who is a staunch Trump supporter and megadonor to the Republican Party, has been vocal about the president’s policies on tariffs and immigration.
He noted how Trump’s trade war has spiraled into a “nonsensical place,” and in February criticized the president’s “bombastic rhetoric” around tariffs.
“The President, the Secretary of Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce need to be very thoughtful that when you have a brand you need to behave in a way that respects that brand, that strengthens that brand,” he said Wednesday.
“Because when you tarnish that brand, it can be a lifetime to repair the damage that has been done,” he added.
Griffin’s comments come off the heels of Trump’s major backtrack from his “Liberation Day” tariffs, the president reducing the universal tariff to 10 percent on all imports and announcing a 90-day pause on tariffs, except for China.
He even assured reporters Tuesday that China’s 145 percent import tax wouldn’t be “anywhere near that high” and will “come down substantially, but it won’t be zero.”
But Trump’s tariffs had immediate effects, causing the dollar to weaken and treasury yields to rise, forcing treasury investors to sell bonds in a “dash for cash” reminiscent of the 2020 Treasury market crash.
“In the financial markets, no brand compared to the brand of the U.S. Treasury market, the strength of the U.S. dollar. The strength, the credit worthiness of U.S. treasuries, no brand came close,” Griffin said. “We put that brand at risk.”
Although Trump’s change in rhetoric managed to temporarily relieve the markets, the Dow gaining 538 points and the S&P climbing up 500 points Wednesday, some have said there’s no going back.
“The damage has been done… both in terms of relative economic growth outcomes and foreign investor willingness to fund the U.S. external deficit,” Deutsche Bank analysts said following Trump’s tariff u-turn.
Despite his criticism of Trump, Griffin has continued to praise the administration, in particular the Department of Government Efficiency’s immigration policies and efforts to cut federal costs through sweeping layoffs.
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