Ken Griffin calls Trump’s tariffs on US allies 'a disaster' and predicts it will hurt Republicans in the midterms

Ken Griffin sees trouble ahead for Republicans and says Donald Trump’s fights with America’s allies are part of the problem.

The Citadel CEO told Bloomberg’s Dani Burger on Tuesday at the Future of Global Markets Conference in New York that Trump’s tariffs have fueled inflation and disrupted supply chains as the party heads toward a difficult midterm election.

“I think that the tariff battles with Canada, with Europe, with our allies has just been a disaster,” Griffin said. “I talked about this when he first started this in his presidency. To be blunt, I hate to say it, but I’ve been right.”

“It’s been pro-inflation. It has certainly taken supply chains around the world and severed them,” Griffin, who said he has been supporting a number of Republican candidates this election cycle, added.

Trump’s trade disputes with Canada and the EU remain unresolved. The president announced an additional 50% tariffs on certain imports from Canada on July 20, citing what he described as discrimination against American auto, alcohol, and dairy exports. Those duties took effect in August.

The economic backdrop is also challenging. US consumer prices rose 3.7% in September from a year earlier, while inflation has erased nearly all of the average worker’s hourly wage gains since Trump returned to office. Fuel affordability and the lack of housing supply have become pain points for Republicans in the midterms.

Griffin predicted Republicans would almost certainly lose control of at least one chamber of Congress, describing the midterms as a check on the party in power.

“The House almost is in a really tough spot and the Senate’s going to be really close,” Griffin said.

Griffin also has thoughts on Trump’s explanation of the war in Iran and called the administration’s treatment of immigrants “disgraceful.”

“The war in Iran is very unpopular. I think he’s done a very poor job of explaining why,” Griffin said. “I think the president has not made that case in a powerful, meaningful way to the American people.”

Griffin said he believes in securing the border, but immigrants who are already here should be offered “a path to being a contributing member of our society” and help “grow our economy.”

“If you are here with your family or by yourself and you are gainfully employed and you are working to find a better life for your family, there needs to be a way to stay in our country,” Griffin added.