Joe Rogan, Dave Portnoy and Ben Shapiro are among Trump backers now
questioning tariffs
[April 09, 2025]
By MEG KINNARD
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.
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Joe Rogan stands for a benediction after President Donald Trump was
sworn in during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of
the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025. (Saul Loeb/Pool photo
via AP, File)
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.”
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Associated Press writer Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this
report.
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