Billionaire Trump backer Bill Ackman gets mocked after defending President’s tariff strategy; here's how people roasted him

Billionaire hedge fund manager and supporter of US president Donald Trump, Bill Ackman, has been slammed with sharp criticism and has been mocked after he claimed that Trump's sudden shift in trade policy was "brilliantly executed."

Ackman went on social media platform X to applaud Trump's unexpected 90-day tariff break, an action that came following days of market volatility and mounting concerns over an impending recession. However, Ackman's post was mocked by X users.

Trump's Trade Policy Reversal: What Happened?

On Wednesday, Trump retreated from most of his "Liberation Day" tariffs, proposing a 90-day delay in new levies, as per his announcement post on Trump's social media site Truth Social. China alone was exempt, for which levies were increased to 125%.

After Trump's reversal, markets rocketed upward, prompting Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to characterize the move as a "successful negotiating strategy," reported the Independent.

While the United States has not yet come to a deal with any country, Trump's administration, including the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, justified the action, saying, “Many of you in the media clearly missed The Art of the Deal,” as quoted in the report.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wrote on X that, “Scott Bessent and I sat with the President while he wrote one of the most extraordinary ... posts of his Presidency. The world is ready to work with President Trump to fix global trade, and China has chosen the opposite direction,” quoted Independent.

Bill Ackman's Praise Sparks Immediate Backlash

When Ackman reacted to Trump's tariffs pause on X, his post immediately got millions of views and the billionaire was made fun of by other social media users.

He wrote, “This was brilliantly executed by @realDonaldTrump. Textbook, Art of the Deal,” as per his X post.

Isaac Saul asked in the comment section, “Is this a joke or are you being serious? I am actually asking because I can't tell,” quoted Independent. Another user asked, “Why was this brilliant? Someone explain,” as per the report.

An X user mocked saying, “Bill, thanks for the bottom call again, and thanks for playing your part. Your whining is always appreciated,” quoted Independent.

Clifford Asness claimed, “For me, one of the main benefits of making some money is not having to wear a gimp suit for anybody. To each his own,” as quoted in the report.

MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell highlighted that, “There’s no deal. Trump caved before making a single deal with a single country,” quoted the Independent.

However, Ackman didn’t back down and went on to say, “The benefit of @realDonaldTrump’s approach is that we now understand who are our preferred trading partners, and who the problems are. China has shown themselves to be a bad actor,” he wrote on another X post. He added, “Our counterparties also have a taste of what life is like if they don’t take down their trade barriers. This is the perfect setup for trade negotiations over the next 90 days.”


Ian Gardner reacted saying, “There are literally no benefits to Trump’s approach, and if you think there are you have lost it,” as quoted in the report. While Jimmy Rushton claimed, “Pigeons have better pattern recognition than you do, Bill,” quoted the Independent.

FAQs

What did Bill Ackman say?
Ackman praised Trump’s 90-day tariff pause. He said, "This was brilliantly executed by @realDonaldTrump. Textbook, Art of the Deal," as per his X post.

Why was Bill Ackman mocked?
Many users on X mocked Ackman’s praise, arguing that Trump’s tariff policy reversal was a sign of weakness, not brilliance.