BlackRock CEO Larry Fink sounded the alarm on Donald Trump's zealous tariff push, telling CNN today, in part, "The economy is weakening as we speak."
"The collective impact in the short run is that people are pausing, they're pulling back," the conservative billionaire said in an exclusive interview with CNN's Kayla Tausche. "Talking to CEOs throughout the economy, I hear that the economy is weakening as we speak."
Although Fink thinks the economy could improve in the long term, for now uncertainty is running rampant in both the corporate and federal jobs arenas, thanks to the many extreme and sudden changes Trump and Elon Musk have inflicted on the United States, he explained. "All of these things have that ripple effect, and we will see over a long cycle whether this ripple effect gets worse or does it stabilize," he said.
"Could we have one quarter or two quarter of a flattening of our economy as we try to reset the economy? Absolutely," he said.
From CNN:
Larry Fink, chief executive of BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, said Wednesday that the Trump administration's barrage of policy changes is paralyzing American consumers and businesses — and that's already hurting the economy.President Donald Trump on Wednesday forged ahead with his aggressive tariff agenda, imposing 25% duties on all steel and aluminum imports — which was met with swift retaliation from the European Union and Canada. Meanwhile, his administration continues to overhaul the federal workforce, laying off nearly half of the staff at the US Department of Education on Tuesday.
Fink said the uncertainty sowed by the Trump administration's drastic changes is broad-based, unsettling companies and federal workers alike — and it remains to be seen whether that will worsen, he said.
In a recent letter to investors, Fink said there isn't enough attention being paid to Americans not having enough savings for retirement, calling it a "crisis."
Previously: Trump's "Have fun!" may ring hollow to farmers
