Prominent conservatives and supporters of President Donald Trump have had a mixed response to the president’s sweeping tariff plans.
Trump announced his reciprocal tariffs Wednesday, enacting blanket 10% tariffs on most countries and higher rates for several other countries based partially on their trade deficit with the U.S. The tariffs have been blasted by Democrats and their allies, while stocks on Wall Street have tanked ahead of the planned Saturday implementation of the tariffs.
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In the Trump-friendly sphere, some commentators have been highly critical of the tariffs, while others have continued to trust the president’s moves.
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro offered skepticism over Trump’s tariff policies on the Thursday episode of the Daily Wire’s The Ben Shapiro Show podcast.
“The tariff that is now being applied to all of its imports is, like, 35, 40%. Those prices will get passed directly onto the consumers. It is a tax paid for by Americans. So this is a massive tax increase on American consumers. That’s what it is,” Shapiro said. “And it is designed to be so. And it is talked about in these terms by the Trump administration that this will cost 600, 700 billion dollars in additional revenue to the government.”
He did offer cautious optimism that Trump would course-correct regarding the tariffs if the economy and headlines continue to be negative.
Barstool’s Dave Portnoy, another supporter of the president, said on Thursday that his stocks and cryptocurrency holdings were down $7 million, and expressed frustration over the tariffs.
“It’s tariff city. Trump has put his tariffs all over the place. I’ve been trying to understand them. I don’t,” Portnoy said, before saying “everything is in the s*****r.”
X user “Geiger Capital” admitted he was wrong with his November 2024 prediction that Trump would not pursue a blanket tariff, calling Trump 2.0 “very different.”
I won’t delete this tweet because I am a man of honor but, yes…
I was wrong on the tariffs in November.
He has indeed put blanket tariffs on every country. Trump 2.0 is very different. pic.twitter.com/kZBifzdKIW
— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) April 3, 2025
“I won’t delete this tweet because I am a man of honor but, yes… I was wrong on the tariffs in November. He has indeed put blanket tariffs on every country. Trump 2.0 is very different,” the user said.
Other commentators defended Trump, trusting in his predictions of how the tariffs would pan out over analysts and media commentators who bashed the plan.
“If these tariffs end up working, nobody will ever trust The Experts again,” X user “End Wokeness” said.
“Tariffs are bad for the economy say the people who said we had to shut down the economy for Covid,” X user Mike Cernovich said.
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Another X user cited former Vice President Mike Pence’s opposition to the tariffs as a reason why he believes they are a good idea.
“In case you needed any assurance that Trump’s tariffs are the right move,” X user “johnny maga” said in response to Pence’s statement calling the tariffs the “largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history.”