GOP Donor breaks ranks, slams Trump for tariffs
- Alexangel Ventura
- May 9
- 1 min read
A key GOP megadonor has slammed President Trump, who he previously supported, due to his tariff policies.
Ken Griffin, the founder of Citadel, has recently scolded President Trump for his policies related to tariffs and the economy. Griffin stated, "I thought that would play out over the course of years. It’s terrifying to watch this play out over the course of weeks," and that Trump's policies show that it is, "very clear that we have roughly already — regretfully — unleashed an era of crony capitalism."
Griffin was a key GOP donor for many years. Worth approximately $42 billion from his majority stake in Citadel LLC and other private equity, he donated consistently for the Republican Party or conservative candidates starting in the 2010 midterm election. He has funded the political campaigns of Mitt Romney and Donald Trump.
This has come amid Trump's tariff policies. The president enacted a series of reciprocal tariffs in his "Liberation Day" program which included steep tariff duties on imported goods from both our strategic allies and our strategies enemies. This has contributed to many companies laying off employees and cutting expenses preemptively to prepare for higher inflation rates. In addition, much of the president's base has shown disapproval for his tariff policies, and the remarks by Griffin are only the beginning of this mass-scale movement outside of Trump's sphere of influence.
