Grim outlook: How are Wall Street biggies reacting to Trump’s Tariffs?

As US President Donald Trump's tariff war escalates into its new phase intensifying between the United States and other world nations, the news portal Forbes reached out to the Top 50 Wall Street biggies, from billionaire investors to institutional asset managers, for their take on Trump's economic strategies, according to the news portal's report.

Out of the 50 Wall Street big shots, over half of the people supported Donald Trump during his White House comeback in January 2025. Now, 72 per cent of those investors say that the Trump administration's economic plan has been ineffective.

66 per cent of the investors surveyed said they did not support Trump's economic policies. This marks that more than one-third of Trump supporters do not back his administration's latest economic policies, according to the news portal's report.

On the execution front, 54 per cent of the investors said that Donald Trump is failing to execute his plan.

Poll Ratings for Trump's Policy

The news report also shared a Forbes poll which rated the topics of tariffs, stock markets, executive orders, and cryptocurrencies on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest rating and 5 as the most favourable.

On the downside, Donald Trump's tariff policy reportedly received a 1.86 out of 5 rating from the Wall Street Top 50 investors. On the stock markets front, the investors overall rated Trump 1.96 out of 5 (25 of the respondents assigned a 1 rating for the same).

As per the news portal's report, Donald Trump received a 2.10 rating for his executive orders aimed at law firms, along with a 2 rating on cryptocurrency moves, and a 2.16 on the US inflation front.

However, Trump's Deregulation has the highest rating from investors at 3.08, and his cost-cutting measure in collaboration with Elon Musk in DOGE, a 2.96 out of 5, reported the news portal.

His policies, like the 10 per cent ‘baseline’ tariffs on all imports, which came into effect on Saturday, April 5, along with the individual ‘reciprocal tariffs’ for nations around the world, have increased the concerns for investors worldwide over an escalating trade war.

Stock Market Crash

Global markets took a hit even since his ‘reciprocal tariff’ announcement with benchmark indices across Asia, Europe, and even in the US suffering the losses as investors witness the biggest crash since the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than $5 trillion was wiped off market capitalisation on Friday after China retaliated against the United States for its tariff move. Indices in the US, like Dow Jones, crashed more than 2,200 points after China announced an additional 34 per cent tariff on all US goods.

Nasdaq Composite also crashed over 900 points, and the S&P 500 closed 5.97 per cent lower after the trading day.

On the currencies front, the US Dollar dropped over 1 per cent against the Euro and the Japanese Yen amid the broader market sell-off.

“It’s alarming and unsettling,” Anh Tran, managing partner at California-based SageMint Wealth told the news portal. “Everyone is now thinking about how to create downside protection.”

Tariff Debate

According to the news reports, many economists have questioned Trump's tariff moves even though the US President cited reason of an alleged exploitation of the United States at a global front.

Morningstar’s chief U.S. economist, Preston Caldwell noted that the tariff hikes of the US are a “self-inflicted economic catastrophe” for the nation, cited the news portal.

“If the tariff hikes are maintained, they will permanently reduce U.S. real GDP, and hence real living standards for the average American,” he said, highlighting that the effect of the tariffs is set to hit the US consumers in the form of higher prices.

UBS analysts cited in the news report estimate that the US GDP growth rate is likely to fall below 2 per cent in 2025, while Deutsche Bank expects the number to be even worse.

“Expect lower growth and earnings forecasts, with added upside risk to inflation,” Adam Turnquist, Chief Technical Strategist for LPL Financial told the news portal. “This is not a good combination for equity markets.”

The news report also highlighted that while this round of tariffs will largely spare sectors like auto due to the existing protections and incentives, other sectors like clothing and apparel will likely face huge disruptions as many US imports rely on nations like China and Vietnam.

With markets in turmoil and businesses scrambling to adapt, Wall Street is losing faith in Trump’s leadership, said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management. “Few people would have predicted that all of the optimism from last year would evaporate in two short months,” reported the news portal.

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