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Podcasting titan Joe Rogan and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy are among the high-profile supporters of President Trump who are now trashing his sweeping tariffs â as the fallout from the White Houseâs new levies sends their stock portfolios down âthe sâ-er.â
Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, conservative commentator Ben Shapiro and even Elon Musk piled on ahead of the reciprocal tariffs taking effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
Hereâs a look at what Trumpâs backers have been saying as the duties roil global markets and escalate a trade war:
Dave Portnoy
The Barstool honcho revealed he lost a staggering $7 million in stocks and crypto in the initial market plunge following Trumpâs April 2 âLiberation Dayâ announcement.

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Days later, Portnoy estimated the toll to be likely closer to $20 million â up to 15% of his net worth.
âWelcome to Orange Monday,â Portnoy, 48, said on his âDavey Day Traderâ financial livestream as the markets opened on April 7.
âItâs tariff city. Trump has put his tariffs all over the place. Iâve been trying to understand them â I donât,â he continued.
âLike itâs more a trade deficit tariff. To me, like, âHey, we get this much sâ from you, and you get this much from us. Letâs even that up. Letâs get some wacky formula, do tariffs. And everythingâs in the sâ-er because of it.â
Even so, Portnoy said he still plans to stick with the Republican.
âI think theyâre smarter than me when it comes to these tariffs. I also think heâs playing a high-stakes game here,â Portnoy said on his livestream. âIâm gonna roll with him for a couple days, a couple weeks, see how this pans out.â
Joe Rogan
The comedian, UFC commentator and host of the âJoe Rogan Experienceâ podcast was among the first to rip the tariffs, declaring in March that the commander in chiefâs ongoing feud with Canada was âstupid.â
Rogan, 57, also bemoaned the fact that Canadians had âbooed us over tariffsâ during professional sporting events in which teams from both counties faced off against each other.
âI just want America and Canada to get along. I think itâs ridiculous,â he railed during his March 14 episode.
âWe have to become friends with Canada again. This is so ridiculous,â the worldâs most popular podcaster added. âThis is the dumbest fâing feud.â
Bill Ackman
The pro-Trump hedge fund manager issued a scathing warning Sunday night, saying the world is on the brink of âself-induced economic nuclear winterâ due to the sweeping tariffs.
âThe 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,â Ackman wrote in a lengthy X post.
âMay cooler heads prevail.â
Ackman, who endorsed Trumpâs run for president, also insisted the presidentâs decision to enforce a baseline 10% tax on all imports was causing business leaders worldwide to lose confidence in Washington.
The 58-year-old later backtracked and claimed some had âmisinterpretedâ his call for a 90-day pause on the tariffs as a criticism of the administration.
The Pershing Square Capital Management boss insisted in a follow-up X post that he is âtotally supportiveâ of Trumpâs move.
âI am advocating for a 30, 60, or 90- day pause before the tariffs are implemented tomorrow to enable negotiations to be completed without a major global economic disruption that will harm the most vulnerable companies and citizens of our country,â Ackman said.
Ben Shapiro
The conservative commentator, usually an unwavering fan of the commander-in-chief, said Monday that the idea that tariffs are good and will make the US rich is âreally problematic.â
âThe idea that this is inherently good and makes the American economy strong is wrongheaded,â Shapiro said in a clip posted to his more than 7 million subscribers on YouTube.
âItâs untrue. The idea that it is going to result in massive reshoring of manufacturing is also untrue.â
It echoed earlier remarks where Shapiro said he could see âcontradictoryâ claims regarding the intention behind Trumpâs tariff proposals.
âI think that the way that the tariff plan was rolled out is about as bad a rollout as you could do,â Shapiro said on the âAll-Inâ podcast. Â
Elon Musk
Even Musk â Trumpâs billionaire ally and adviser â has pushed back and expressed skepticism over the tariffs, arguing the levies would drive up costs for his electric car company, Tesla.
âI hope it is agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally in my view to a zero-tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America,â the billionaire told members of Italyâs right-wing League party in a video address this past weekend.
When White House trade adviser Peter Navarro suggested Musk âdoesnât understandâ the situation during a media interview, the SpaceX founder fired back on social media Tuesday â calling Navarro âtruly a moronâ and âdumber than a sack of bricks.â
With Post wires