A MAGA billionaire sensationally turned on Howard Lutnick, saying President Donald Trump’s commerce secretary “profits when our economy implodes.”
Bill Ackman, a Democratic Party donor turned MAGA cheerleader, admonished Lutnick late Sunday in a stream of strongly worded posts on X. “I just figured out why @howardlutnick is indifferent to the stock market and the economy crashing,” he wrote.
“He and Cantor are long bonds. He profits when our economy implodes. 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.”
The hedge fund manager referenced the financial services firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, that Lutnick led for more than three decades before teaming up with Trump. Ackman was suggesting that Lutnick stands to gain as stocks tumble and investors turn to more stable bonds—forcing their prices up.
“I am long America and he is short,” Ackman said in a later post, referencing Lutnick’s perceived interest in cashing in short term. “I am aligned with our country and our economy and he is short.”
After the Daily Beast asked Cantor Fitzgerald to comment, a spokesperson pointed to a new post from Ackman on Monday morning. “It was unfair of me to lash out at @howardlutnick,” he wrote.
He went on: “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.”
He said his outburst came from frustration, adding: “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. 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.”
The president and his allies have repeatedly stated that the stock market chaos instigated by his tariffs will cause short-term pain but long-term gain.
Despite the market turmoil and ensuing fears of a global trade war and resulting recession, Lutnick has reportedly urged more and more aggressive tariffs. This, according to Politico, puts him in pole position to be the first MAGA head of Trump 2.0 to roll out of the White House if the bold approach to levies fails.
Undeterred, Lutnick has pressed ahead with his aggressive style and reaffirmed his commitment on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday. Ahead of even higher levies on imports from dozens of countries, set to go into effect Wednesday, he said: “The tariffs are coming. He [Trump] announced it, and he wasn’t kidding. The tariffs are coming. Of course they are.”
He added that the duties will “stay in place for days and weeks.” Since the CBS interview, global stocks erased $7.46 billion in market value. Dow futures dropped 3.3 percent Sunday evening, S&P 500 futures fell 3.8 percent, and the Nasdaq 100 futures shed 4.8 percent.
Ackman, meanwhile, is hoping for a softer approach from Trump on Monday. “The president has an opportunity on Monday to call a time out and have the time to execute on fixing an unfair tariff system,” the billionaire said in a series of posts earlier on X Sunday. “Alternatively, we are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter, and we should start hunkering down.”
He said Trump’s tariff rollout is tantamount to “launching a global economic war against the whole world at once.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Ackman’s initial claims.
