Billionaire investor and staunch President Trump supporter Bill Ackman has issued a dire warning, stating that the world is on the brink of a “self-induced economic nuclear winter” and urging the president to pause his sweeping tariffs.
In a lengthy post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday evening, Ackman urged Trump to take a step back and reconsider his approach, saying, “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.” He added, “May cooler heads prevail.”
Ackman, who has publicly supported Trump’s presidential campaign, made his comments as he criticized the 10% tariff on imports, warning that it was eroding global confidence in the United States as a business partner. He acknowledged the need for fairer trade policies but cautioned that the current approach was alienating allies and undermining trust in the U.S. economy.
“The country is 100% behind the president on fixing a global system of tariffs that has disadvantaged the country. But, business is a confidence game, and confidence depends on trust,” Ackman wrote. He continued, “By placing massive and disproportionate tariffs on our friends and our enemies alike and thereby launching a global economic war against the whole world at once, we are in the process of destroying confidence in our country as a trading partner, as a place to do business, and as a market to invest capital.”
Ackman recommended a 90-day “time-out” to allow for the renegotiation of what he called “unfair asymmetric tariff deals,” emphasizing that the ongoing trade war could cause businesses to grind to a halt, leading to a sharp decline in consumer spending and investment.
“What CEO and what board of directors will be comfortable making large, long-term, economic commitments in our country in the middle of an economic nuclear war?” he asked.
Ackman warned that when markets crash, new investments stop, businesses reduce spending, and layoffs follow—especially for small and medium-sized businesses, which are less equipped to absorb steep cost increases.
He further highlighted the negative consequences for low-income consumers, saying, “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. This is not what we voted for.”
Ackman’s plea came as Trump’s tariff policies continued to shake global financial markets. On Monday, Trump warned that foreign governments would have to pay “a lot of money” to lift the tariffs, which he defended as “medicine” to address unfair trade practices.
