Former Home Depot CEO calls stock market response to Trump's tariffs an 'over-reaction'
Former Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli called the stock market’s response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs an "over-reaction" on Monday and argued they will be very beneficial for the economy going forward.
The stock market has taken a major hit since Trump announced wide-sweeping tariffs across multiple countries that are set to go into effect this week. Although fears of a recession have spiked as a result, Nardelli told "America Reports" on Fox News that tariffs have yielded positive results in the past and will continue to do so if given time.
"As I mentioned many times, we’ve become a society of instant gratification," Nardelli said. "We saw the early tariffs on Mexico and Canada, and as a result, we saw border closings. We saw a repatriation of the criminals and illegal aliens that came in here. People were very happy about that."
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He continued, "Here we see another move by this president to really level the playing field, and we’re seeing over-reaction in my opinion. The secretary treasurer said it, I’m saying it, we should just stand down. We’re going to see these ups and downs, these goes ins and goes outs, but I, for example, personally have not sold a share."
"I’m staying in this market because I believe what he’s doing over the long haul will benefit the country in a number of ways. Not only balancing the tariffs, but he’s also focused on balancing the dollars of trade, which is also important for this economy going forward."
Host Sandra Smith pressed Nardelli on concerns from people like billionaire investor Bill Ackman and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who have warned about increased prices and an "economic nuclear winter" because of the tariffs.
Nardelli replied that the administration was likely aware of the uncertainty that came with the tariff policy but argued it was a "risk worth taking" to help the economy in the long run.
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"We have to stop letting Wall Street determine our business. Every 90 days, the satellite passes over, and they take a vote. When they don’t like you and vote against you, then you get the activist coming in trying to tell you how to run your business," Nardelli said.
The Trump administration has said since the tariff announcement, more than 50 countries have reached out for new economic negotiations.