Jordan Belfort, the infamous stockbroker known as the ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’, has thrown his weight behind US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff hikes, dismissing criticism as “complete and utter nonsense.” He argued the move was necessary to revive American manufacturing and correct long-standing trade imbalances.
“There’s going to be corrections in markets. So, I think you need to look past that and say, well, what are these tariffs doing for the long-term fundamental health of the economy?” he said on Fox & Friends.
His remarks come as the stock market reels from concerns over a trade war. The S&P 500 closed in correction territory, reflecting investor anxiety over Trump’s 25 per cent tariff on steel and aluminium imports and a proposed 200 per cent tariff on European champagne and alcohol products. Canada and the European Union have already vowed retaliatory tariffs, deepening fears of an economic standoff.
Despite the market reaction, Trump told reporters, “I’m not going to bend at all.” Defending the policy, he said, “We’re going to take back our wealth, and we’re going to take back a lot of the companies that left.”
Belfort echoed this, saying that restoring domestic production was essential for the US economy. “You can’t just be a consumer nation,” he said. “It’s like being on a sugar high for 50 years. At some point, you’re bleeding the wealth out of the country.”
Economists have warned that tariffs could raise costs for consumers and strain global trade relations, to which Belfort said, “I think the only people who are panicking are probably, you know, on CNBC trying to make everyone panic.”
He also suggested that opponents of Trump’s policies would criticise him no matter what. “Whatever he does, they’re gonna say they hate it, ‘it’s the worst thing in the world.’ … You start to just ignore it. It’s complete and utter nonsense.”
“If he didn’t have tariffs, they would be saying, ‘How could he not be addressing tariffs?! He has to put tariffs on things. Everyone is taking advantage of us!'” he went on.
During the same Fox & Friends appearance, Belfort also heaped praise on Tesla CEO Elon Musk, calling him a “hero” and even promising to purchase a Tesla that very day. “I’m gonna buy a Tesla today, by the way,” he declared, earning a nod from co-host Brian Kilmeade.
With Tesla sales declining globally amid Elon Musk’s controversial political shift and worker protests at US dealerships, Trump recently promoted the automaker at the White House. Turning the South Lawn into a Tesla showroom, Trump called Musk his “first buddy” and even bought a Tesla himself. He also warned that anyone caught vandalising the cars could be labelled a “domestic terrorist.”
Jordan Belfort was convicted of securities fraud and money laundering in the 1990s for a $200 million stock scam. He pleaded guilty in 1999, served 22 months in prison, and was ordered to repay $110 million, much of which remains unpaid.
His crimes were dramatised in the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.