tl;dr
President Donald Trump criticized Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, suggesting he replace the bank’s economist or focus on his DJ career, following warnings from Goldman’s chief economist that U.S. consumers will bear increasing costs from new tariffs. Trump praised the surge in federal tariff revenu...
President Donald Trump criticized Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, suggesting he should either replace the bank’s economist or focus solely on his DJ career. This comment came shortly after Goldman’s chief economist warned that American consumers will increasingly bear the burden of new tariffs imposed by the U.S. government.
Trump praised the surge in federal revenue generated by tariffs, calling it “massive” and claiming that tariffs have not caused inflation or other economic problems, but have instead brought significant cash into the Treasury. In July alone, tariff revenue neared $28 billion, according to Treasury Department figures. Despite this, inflation has continued to rise, although recent data shows consumer price growth slowing slightly more than expected.
In his remarks, Trump argued that companies and foreign governments are mainly paying for the tariffs rather than consumers. However, economists warn that the full price effects of tariffs have yet to be seen, with many businesses already preparing to raise prices due to increased import costs. Trump accused Goldman Sachs and Solomon of making inaccurate predictions about the market impact and tariffs, stating that Solomon should reconsider the bank’s economist or focus on his DJ work instead.
Although Trump did not specify which economist he wanted replaced, Jan Hatzius, Goldman Sachs’ chief economist since 2011, had recently indicated that U.S. consumers will end up absorbing a larger share of tariff costs. This exchange highlights the contentious economic debate over the true impact of tariff policies on inflation and consumers.