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One of the Republican Party’s biggest donors in the last election cycle gave a harsh assessment of Donald Trump’s efforts to reorganize the global trade order on Wedneday.
Ken Griffin, CEO of Citadel, donated more than $100m to Republican candidates and causes during the 2024 cycle, when the party protected a key majority in the House and took back control of the Senate. His efforts contributed to a second Trump administration where the president enjoys a dual-chamber majority, albeit a slim one.
But in a discussion at the Semafor World Economy Summit in Washington on Wednesday, the billionaire investor warned that Trump’s on-again-off-again tariff strategy was “eroding” America’s brand as a reliable partner.
“The United States was more than just a nation. It’s a brand. It’s a universal brand, whether it’s our culture, our financial strength, our military strength,” Griffin said in comments reported by Fortune and CNN. “And we’re eroding that brand right now.”
“If you think of your behavior as a consumer, how many times do you buy a product with a brand on it because you trust that brand?” he continued. “In the financial markets, no brand compares to the brand of the US Treasuries – the strength of the US dollar and the strength and creditworthiness of US Treasuries. No brand came close. We put that brand at risk.”
Griffin’s comments come as the stock market has lost trillions in value in recent weeks while the US dollar sank to a three-year low. In his interview, he predicted that volatility in the US market would dissuade the crucial investments in American manufacturing that Trump is hoping to spur with his tariffs on all US imports to avert a price hike on American consumers. The Citadel chief’s opposition to tariffs predates Trump’s second presidency and he was on the record last November saying that he was “very anxious” about Trump’s willingness to levy them against US trade partners.
The White House is now battling recession indicators and predictions from economists of serious cuts to US economic growth. Layoffs have begun hitting the auto and tech industries, and last week the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted a global slowdown of trade as a result of Trump’s policies. Global tourism to the US is dropping. Administration officials have turned to insisting that numerous foreign countries, including China, are close to folding — but no major deals have yet emerged.
Even close US diplomatic partners including Canada are publicly turning away from America as the threats of a global trade war deepen. Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a March speech that the nation’s “old relationship with the US is over” and said that America was “no longer a reliable partner.”
The CEO’s point about America’s brand extending past economics comes as Europe, for the first time since the second World War, is seriously contemplating a future where the US military cannot be relied upon to defend western Europe from Russia.
Next month, the UK is set to host leaders from the European Union (EU) for a defense summit, the first of its kind since Brexit. On the issue of Ukraine, diplomatic overtures towards Russia appear to be making little progress as Kyiv remains a willing participant in a US-backed ceasefire process while Moscow delays and continues attacks on Ukrainian civilian centers.
Trump, on Thursday, was reduced to complaining that he was not “happy” about an overnight strike on Ukraine’s capital via his Truth Social platform, his promise to end the Ukraine-Russia war in 24 hours now in tatters and his administration yet to take a meaningful response to Russia’s slow-walking of peace talks.
English (US) ·