'I'm not trying to be a hero': How 'Big Short' investor Steve Eisman is playing the market as tariffs bite

• Steve Eisman has some ideas for how to position in markets amid the latest tariff-driven sell-off.
• The "Big Short" investor spoke to CNBC about how he's adjusting his investing approach.
• He's eyeing two single stocks and de-risking his portfolio overall.

Markets have been on a rollercoaster since Trump unveiled his "Liberation Day" tariffs and doubled down on his trade war between the US and China. Steve Eisman is absorbing the volatility and offering a few ideas for how to play the market.

Speaking to CNBC on Tuesday, the "Big Short" investor — who bet against the subprime mortgage industry leading up to the 2008 crisis — said he was making a change in his portfolio and shared a few ideas for how he was thinking about markets.

The first thing he's doing is broadly de-risking.

"I've taken some risk down in my personal portfolio, and I'm waiting." Eisman said. "I think we're going to have volatility for quite a while."

He's also trying to maintain a long-term time horizon, noting that he's rarely been a day-trader throughout his career.

"If things get resolved fairly quickly, you'll have a very bullish market for quite a while, and if you miss the first few percent, it's not a calamity. On the other hand, if things go poorly, which they certainly could, then you'll have wished you sold. So I'm not trying to be a hero here," Eisman said.

In terms of specific bets, Eisman highlighted Nvidia and Apollo as two stocks he's bullish on for the next five years.

"I just think these companies have very strong long-term fundamentals, and if you stick with them for a long time, you'll make money," he said.

He noted that it didn't have any short-term forecast for stocks due to the uncertainty stemming from the president's policies.

"We're in a type of market where — which doesn't happen that often, but it does happen — where there's only one variable that matters. And right now, the variable that matters is the president of the United States. And I can't handicap that right now," he said.

Eisman sees more upside in the artificial intelligence space, despite chatter that the hype for AI could represent another market bubble vulnerable to popping.

"I think we're only in the very very early beginnings of the AI revolution. I'm quite convinced of that. I don't think Nvidia's best days are behind it," Eisman said. "Do I think Nvidia is going to grow 300% again in a year? Almost certainly not. But do I think it's one of the best long-term stories out there? I certainly do."

Eisman has issued several bullish calls related to AI in the past. Last year, he speculated that Apple could be the market's hidden AI play, and said he believed artificial intelligence could result in an infrastructure boom.