Billionaire investor Bill Ackman walked back his attack on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Monday in a post on social media, after previously arguing the commerce secretary profits if the economy implodes amid ongoing backlash to President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“It was unfair of me to lash out at @howardlutnick. I don’t think he is pursuing his self interest. I am sure he is doing the best he can for the country while representing the President as Commerce Secretary. It is not an easy job and we don’t know how the sausage was made,” Ackman wrote on X, responding to a previous post in which he accused Lutnick of profiting “when our economy implodes.”
Stocks continued to be volatile on Monday as the investor pushback over Trump’s tariffs continued to roil the global markets. Trump threatened China with additional 50% tariffs on Monday morning if Beijing “does not withdraw” the 34% tariffs it announced against the U.S. last week.
“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,” Ackman continued. “I would love to be proven wrong and watch this approach to tariffs and/or their resolution be enormously beneficial to our country and the global economy.”
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Ackman said Sunday, “It’s a bad idea to pick a Secretary of Commerce whose firm is levered long fixed income. It’s an irreconcilable conflict of interest.” Ackman noted that Lutnick worked for Cantor Fitzgerald.
“It’s a bad idea to pick a Secretary of Commerce whose firm is levered long fixed income. It’s an irreconcilable conflict of interest,” Ackman wrote.
In a lengthy X post on Sunday, the billionaire founder of Pershing Square hedge fund management argued that the U.S. “is 100% behind the president on fixing a global system of tariffs that has disadvantaged the country,” but stressed that business “is a confidence game and confidence depends on trust.”
Ackman, who backed the Republican presidential candidate in July 2024 after previously supporting the Democratic Party, acknowledged that Trump “has elevated the tariff issue to the most important geopolitical issue in the world, and he has gotten everyone’s attention.”
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“This is not what we voted for,” Ackman said. “The President has an opportunity on Monday to call a time out and have the time to execute on fixing an unfair tariff system. Alternatively, we are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter, and we should start hunkering down. May cooler heads prevail.”
Lutnick was pressed by CBS’ Margaret Brennan on Sunday about the tariff announcement, during which he defended Trump’s policies.
Fox News’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
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