Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has introduced a series of shock-and-awe policies.

From unprecedented deportations of migrants to countries like El Salvador, to purging tens of thousands of federal employees and clashing with European allies over his Russia-Ukraine peace proposal—which resulted in a public spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy—Trump has rarely backed down from controversy.

But it is his global tariffs, targeting friends and foes alike, that has sparked a wave of criticism from within his own MAGA ranks. Dissent and critique now comes from MAGA allies like Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and head of the newly formed DOGE, billionaire investor Bill Ackman, and even longtime political allies.

Even steadfast Trump supporters like Republican Senator Ted Cruz expressed concern about the scale of the tariffs, warning they carry “enormous risks.” Senator Ron Paul, another longtime Trump ally, was rather blunt in his criticism towards the president: “I still think tariffs are a terrible idea, but Dios Mio, what courage, what tenacity.”

Trump, however, appears unfazed. “What is wrong with them, other than suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, commonly known as TDS?” he recently posted on Truth Social.

Musk: Not a fan of tariffs

According to the Washington Post, Musk—who reportedly contributed nearly $290 million to Trump’s campaign—made a direct appeal to the President for reconsidering the tariffs. Tesla manufactures more than half its electric vehicles in China, where Trump’s wrath has been levelled the most.

On Monday, Trump threatened to impose an additional 50 percent tariff on Chinese goods if Beijing didn’t back down from its retaliatory tariffs. But China responded to the threat saying that it would “fight to the end”. 

If Trump stays true to his word on China, then, Musk’s company and other US firms importing from China to the US, could face a total rate of 104 percent tariffs. In March, Trump levied 20 percent and last week he added 34 percent more tariffs against China. 

Musk’s opposition on Trump tariffs was clear with his tit-for-tat debate with Peter Navarro, the White House’s top trade adviser, who sternly defended the ongoing punishing financial measures against China and other countries. 

“A PhD in Econ from Harvard is a bad thing, not a good thing. Results in the ego/brains>>1 problem,” Musk wrote, referring to Navarro’s academic background and psychological health. 

Navarro shot back saying that the Trump administration does not see Musk’s strength in trade policy because he is seen as a “car manufacturer” and a “car assembler” not an expert on international tariffs. “He is a car person. That’s what he loves,” said Navarro, who believes that US markets will “boom” soon.   

During a meeting with Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, Musk advocated a “free trade zone” between Europe and the US, urging that both sides should adopt “a zero-tariff” policy, which would be an unlikely move under current circumstances.  

Since Trump’s inauguration just three months ago, Tesla’s stock has dropped more than 38 percent, prompting investors to urge Musk to distance himself from the administration at the White House, and refocus on his business.

Wall street allies push back

“Billionaires are turning on Trump,” declared a recent CNN headline, detailing how hedge fund leaders who once endorsed Trump now find themselves under fire under Washington’s new, aggressive tariffs.

Bill Ackman, a billionaire investor and the CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, a leading hedge fund, starkly warned if the US president continues to stay true to its threats on April 9, that would mean launching an “economic nuclear war” across the globe. 

“Business is a confidence game. The president is losing the confidence of business leaders around the globe. The consequences for our country and the millions of our citizens who have supported the president — in particular low-income consumers who are already under a huge amount of economic stress — are going to be severely negative. This is not what we voted for,” Ackman wrote on X. 

Other major Wall Street figures echoed his concerns.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who once praised tariffs as a useful tool, now warns that “the recent tariffs will likely increase inflation and are causing many to consider a greater probability of a recession.”

Tony Pasquariello, Goldman Sachs’s top hedge fund operator, described the fallout as shocking: “Liberation Day was a knock-down, drag-out affair,” he told clients. “There’s a harshness that surprised even the most hawkish people I know.”

Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller, a lifelong Republican and former mentor to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, also voiced opposition.

Ken Fisher, the founder and executive chairman of Fisher Investments, was among most upset Wall Street billionaires finding Trump’s tariffs “stupid, wrong, arrogantly extreme, ignorant trade-wise and addressing a non-problem with misguided tools.”