Billionaire
Home Depot Founder Does 180 on Trump's
Tariffs, Presidency
Red State,
by
Katie Jerkovich
Original Article
Posted By: Mercedes44,
7/16/2025 5:56:32 AM
Billionaire Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone has done a 180 after blasting Trump's sweeping tariffs, explaining, "When you made a mistake, admit it."
During Langone's appearance on Tuesday on CNBC's "Squawk Box," the co-founder of the home improvement store and top GOP donor said that he was wrong when he called out the president in April suggesting he was getting bad advice from advisors for the "46% tariff on Vietnam" and said the 34 percent rate on China was "too aggressive, too soon."
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Reply 1 - Posted by:
Bur Oak 7/16/2025 6:44:59 AM (No. 1978019)
Now, if Ken could only find some decent lumber to sell.
40 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
sw penn 7/16/2025 7:36:51 AM (No. 1978053)
There is no shortage of people willing
to put their wallets ahead of the national good.
Which, if you think about it,
is how we got here.
All he's saying is,
Let's just go back to bleeding America dry.
It was profitable for ME.
15 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
marlon 7/16/2025 7:40:14 AM (No. 1978056)
Umm I think he's saying he was wrong not President Trump
78 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
bpl40 7/16/2025 7:50:54 AM (No. 1978065)
Higher prices will be transient. And the people will pay (a) out of patriotism (b) the money saved due to lowered taxes. Good start Ken. Now look into what language people working in your stores speak! Here in Central Florida they look at you funny if you ask a question in English!
31 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Dodge Boy 7/16/2025 8:03:37 AM (No. 1978073)
Ken, glad to see you are coming around to the right thinking.
27 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 7/16/2025 8:09:58 AM (No. 1978081)
CEO Translated: "How dare anyone increase our price of goods from our suppliers!"
Cynical Customer: "Are those the increases you pass along to your customers, which would be, US?"
----
There was a time when large retailers, including Home Depot and Wal-Mart, would at least make an attempt to push, "Made in America" stickered products, but after awhile, the CEOs got together and applied pressure to change the requirements for earning the little sticker. That revision further eroded American factories' sponsorship in the big-box supply chain. But then, a few years later, the big-box stores just went "full China" and stopped even trying to support American factories, and this move went full force, regardless of all the customer complaints about 'pisspoor' product quality and a dearth of customer support, both topics being nearly non-existent with American made products.
"Buy cheap, but sell dear," is the CEO battle-cry for earning fat bonuses, and that's all that matters. /s
19 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
msts 7/16/2025 8:12:21 AM (No. 1978084)
I see tariffs like this. They protect the intake country's industry by making it more expensive for outside countries to sell at lower prices. In our case we abandoned production so there was no competition. If tariffs make it expensive, then at some point, making products here will make sense again. The outcry is that those products will be more expensive than the cheap fully imported gear. A missing part of that is that if the merchandise is produced here the money stays here. When we send money off to Asia for their merchandise, its gone. If we keep it here that money filters through the economy. The money leaving is a large part of why American workers have experienced such terrible wage stagflation
36 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
felixcat 7/16/2025 9:11:13 AM (No. 1978112)
I just don't understand all these critics of Trump's tariffs on imported goods when these same countries place tariffs on our goods into their country?
26 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Zigrid 7/16/2025 9:29:43 AM (No. 1978124)
It's not about...admitting he was wrong...it's about business is turning around under President Trump...and Ken is just climbing aboard...now...so he won't get left behind....and I'm tired of know it all economic advisors giving their opinions...when they haven't a clue how business works....the only one I trust for the truth is Charles Paine on Fox News...he's right on the money every time....choose your information carefully....
15 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Strike3 7/16/2025 10:02:12 AM (No. 1978147)
See, even rich people can learn...
20 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
DVC 7/16/2025 11:16:18 AM (No. 1978201)
Glad he is man enough to recognize his error as publicly as he originally voiced his disagreement. That's the sign of an honest man.
12 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
MickTurn 7/16/2025 12:14:24 PM (No. 1978234)
Well now we know where Home Depot gets most of their stuff!
4 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
crashnburn 7/16/2025 2:59:18 PM (No. 1978290)
I didn't need Ken to imply he imports most of his stuff. I'd guess just looking at what's for sale is made outside the US. Lumber mostly comes from Canada, the rest from Asia, mostly China.
It's not free, nor fair trade, if one country has excessive import restrictions and the other has none. President Trump is trying to right the imbalance, Pun intended.
4 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
danu 7/16/2025 4:52:24 PM (No. 1978347)
number 1 is naughty and must be cancelled. hahaha
why so high for viet nam? didn't we 'lose' ...uhhhmmm 'fair and square'...?
0 people like this.
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