Ex-Goldman Sachs boss urges Trump to delay stiffer tariffs by six months to allow negotiations
Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein on Friday appeared to take an indirect swipe at President Trump’s rollout of reciprocal tariffs as the stock market tanked for a second straight day amid an escalating global trade war.Blankfein urged Trump to delay imposition of reciprocal tariffs by six months in order to give countries time to negotiate better trade deals with the United States.“The switchboard at the WH must be burning up with gov’ts trying to surrender in this trade war.Why not give them a chance?” Blankfein wrote on X.In a follow-up post, Blankfein recommended a strategic delay in implementing the reciprocal tariffs.“Take the win! The Prez said he’d make us tired of winning…I’m there now!” he added.Blankfein proposed that the administration keep the new 10% base tariff that goes into effect Saturday but delay the reciprocal measures slated to kick in Wednesday.The former Goldman CEO, who stepped down as chief executive of the investment banking giant in 2018, has had a complicated relationship with Trump.During Trump’s 2016 run for the White House, Blankfein was featured in a Trump campaign ad that was criticized for anti-globalist sentiments, which some interpreted as antisemitic.In 2017, Blankfein publicly opposed Trump’s immigration ban, emphasizing the importance of diversity and stating, “This is not a policy we support.” He also criticized Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change, calling it a setback for American leadership.However, in 2020, Blankfein expressed reservations about Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, suggesting he might find it harder to vote for Sanders than for Trump.Following the Jan.
6, 2021 Capitol riot, Blankfein criticized Wall Street for overlooking Trump’s character flaws, stating that the financial industry had “put a clothespin on our nose” because Trump delivered favorable economic policies.Blankfein’s remarks Friday came on the second con...