‘I Am Sold On Trump’: Major Business Leader Reveals ‘Turnaround’ On Views About Trump, Tariffs

Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone admitted Tuesday that previous concerns over President Donald Trump’s tariff policy were unfounded, saying he was “sold” on the president.

Langone’s comments came during an appearance on “Squawk Box” shortly before the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 2.7% year-over-year in June, roughly in line with expectations. Langone admitted he’d felt trepidation about the tariffs, having called them “bullshit” after Trump first announced them in April. (RELATED: CNBC Editor Pours Cold Water On Narrative That Trump Tariffs Would Spike Inflation)

“I think, damn it, give Trump credit, his instincts are good,” Langone said. “Some of these things need to be fixed. Take, take Germany, take Japan. God bless America, 80 years ago, when the war was over, we made our mind up, we’re not going to be the conquering hero. We’re going to go in and help these countries rebuild themselves. And we did. To our credit, we did.”

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“Japanese, Japan. Look at what happened. They’re on their feet now,” Langone continued. “There aren’t many American cars sold in Germany, but whatever’s sold in Germany, there’s a 10% tariff. Every other car in America is a Mercedes. I got a Mercedes. I got an Audi. I can name you all the cars we drive, most of them are foreign. Now, they sell a hell of a lot more cars here than we do there, 2.5% tariff. That’s wrong.”