Warren Buffett Issues Warning on Donald Trump Tariffs—'Act of War'

 

Warren Buffett Shreds Trump’s Tariff Tantrum: Calls It an "Act of War"

Warren Buffett, the 94-year-old investing legend with more economic wisdom in his pinky than Trump’s entire Cabinet, didn’t hold back at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting. Speaking before a packed room of investors looking for direction in the economic chaos Trump has whipped up, Buffett made it clear: the former reality TV star-turned-disaster-in-chief has no idea what he's doing with trade.

Buffett didn’t need to name Trump directly—everyone knew who he was talking about when he said that slapping tariffs on the world like it’s a game of Whac-A-Mole is a “big mistake.” According to Buffett, using trade as a weapon is not just dumb—it's dangerous.

"Trade should not be a weapon," Buffett said, looking every bit like the adult in the room America sorely lacks. "Tariffs have led to bad things." That’s Buffett-speak for: Trump’s boneheaded economic tantrums are torching global relationships and tanking supply chains.

And the consequences are showing. Under Trump’s latest genius-level stunt—his so-called "Liberation Day" tariffs (what is this, a Marvel movie?)—the U.S. economy shrank for the first time in three years. Businesses are in panic mode, scrambling to avoid tariffs that range from 10% to a ludicrous 245% on Chinese goods. The S&P 500 plummeted over 10% within days. That’s not economic strategy—that’s setting the house on fire and bragging about the smoke.

Buffett, whose company Berkshire Hathaway is sitting on a record $334.2 billion in cash (because unlike Trump, he understands money), warned that these protectionist policies are not just bad economics—they’re a geopolitical disaster. “It’s a big mistake,” he said, “when you have seven and a half billion people who don’t like you very well, and 300 million who are bragging about how great they are.” Translation: Trump’s America-first sloganeering is turning into America-alone reality.

While Trump parades around trying to cosplay as an economic genius, Buffett is quietly investing overseas, upping stakes in Japanese trading firms and moving cash strategically—something you can’t do when your economic policy fits on a bumper sticker.

Even when asked directly about the economy in a CBS interview, Buffett gave a knowing smirk and said, “I really can’t [talk about it].” That’s billionaire-code for: “It’s a dumpster fire and I’m not about to get scorched.”

Buffett has warned before that Trump’s tariffs amount to a tax on American consumers—and worse, they risk tipping us into a real economic war. In 2018 and 2019, he made it clear that these reckless trade conflicts could destabilize not just the U.S., but the entire global economy. But apparently, Trump thinks economics works like building a casino—you just bet big and stiff the contractors when it goes bust.

Cathy Seifert, an analyst at CFRA, summed it up best: “We need insight into the degree to which tariffs will cause demand destruction or a slowdown in the economy.” Demand destruction. That’s what Trump’s legacy is shaping up to be—an economic implosion camouflaged by bluster and bad ideas.

And ordinary Americans are watching in disbelief. Robin Nasser, a CPA from California attending the meeting, told Reuters: “Warren Buffett has steered away from discussing tariffs, and people are clamoring to hear what he thinks. He obviously knows something we don’t because he’s stockpiling cash.”

Yeah—he knows the clown show isn’t over yet. And he’s preparing for the fallout.