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.”
Trump imposed the “reciprocal” tariffs to address import duties and “horrendous imbalances” in trade with other countries during an April 2 Rose Garden event, then announcing a 90-day pause via a April 9 post on Truth Social.
“I think it’ll settle in. I think there’s going to be that what he did… in the Middle East with these deals. He’s making $3 trillion. These are real numbers,” Langone said. “Look, let me tell you right now, I am sold on Trump. In fact, I’ll say this: I think he’s got a good shot at going down in history as one of our best presidents ever.”
“That is a real turnaround because you didn’t want to vote for him,” “Squawk Box” co-host Joe Kernan said, with Langone responding, “I told you the reason. I want to tell you, I’m a believer. What, what I’m seeing happening is, is absolutely nothing short of a great thing.”
Langone previously backed former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley during the 2024 Republican presidential primaries and also said he felt “betrayed” by Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol building. Following the July 13, 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, Langone appeared to alter his views on Trump, telling then-Fox News host Neil Cavuto he thought Trump had “an opportunity for him to carve a very significant place in history.” (RELATED: Charles Payne, Guest Warn Economic ‘Tailspin’ ‘Only Gets Worse’ For China)
“Knowledge implies one thing: When you made a mistake, admit it,” Langone told Kernan. “I think this guy is turning out to be a president, right? One of the pilots on that miraculous trip to Iran, we wiped out whatever the hell we wiped out, right. He said, you’re the only guy that in the presidency that would have done what you did. One of the pilots said that. Yeah, and you know what? He’s probably right.”
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