Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone has just publicly admitted that his skepticism of President Donald Trump and his aggressive tariff policies was misplaced.
Langone revealed that he has experienced a complete “turnaround” of his anti-Trump views, crediting the president’s economic instincts and trade agenda with reshaping global markets in America’s favor.
“I think, damn it, give Trump credit, his instincts are good,” Langone told CNBC’s Squawk Box just before new inflation numbers were released.
The June Consumer Price Index showed a 2.7% year-over-year increase.
The figure was broadly in line with expectations and far below the inflation spikes seen under former President Joe Biden.
Langone, who previosuly dismissed Trump’s tariff strategy as “bullsh*t,” said he’s seen enough to change his mind and his support for the president.
“Some of these things need to be fixed,” Langone said, pointing to long-standing trade imbalances with Germany and Japan.
“Take Germany, take Japan.
“God bless America, 80 years ago, when the war was over, we made our mind up, we’re not going to be the conquering hero.
“We’re going to go in and help these countries rebuild themselves.
“And we did. To our credit, we did.”
Langone cited the disparity in auto tariffs as a glaring example of the imbalance Trump has worked to correct.
“There aren’t many American cars sold in Germany,” Langone explained.
“But whatever’s sold in Germany, there’s a 10% tariff.
“Every other car in America is a Mercedes.
“I got a Mercedes. I got an Audi.
“I can name you all the cars we drive, most of them are foreign.
“Now, they sell a hell of a lot more cars here than we do there.
“[It’s a] 2.5% tariff. That’s wrong.”
President Trump launched his push for reciprocal tariffs back in April to rebalance what he described as “horrendous” trade arrangements.
In a Rose Garden event and subsequent Truth Social post, Trump framed the moves as part of a broader “America First” trade agenda that would help restore fairness in international commerce.
Langone is long regarded as a pragmatic billionaire and former backer of Nikki Haley during the 2024 GOP primaries.
He even said he would vote for his wife as a write-in candidate before voting for Trump and vowed not to vote for him in the general election.
Now, however, Langone says he’s fully on board with Trump’s leadership and legacy.
“Let me tell you right now, I am sold on Trump,” Langone said.
“In fact, I’ll say this: I think he’s got a good shot at going down in history as one of our best presidents ever.”
CNBC host Joe Kernan, surprised by the dramatic shift, noted, “That is a real turnaround because you didn’t want to vote for him.”
“I told you the reason,” Langone responded.
“I want to tell you, I’m a believer.
“What I’m seeing happening is absolutely nothing short of a great thing.”
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Langone also reflected on Trump’s foreign policy success, especially his muscular approach in the Middle East.
“I think there’s going to be… what he did in the Middle East with these deals,” Langone said.
“He’s making $3 trillion. These are real numbers.”
Langone, who previously expressed frustration with Trump over the January 6th Capitol protests, said his view began to shift after the July 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
He told then-Fox News host Neil Cavuto at the time that Trump now had “an opportunity for him to carve a very significant place in history.”
Langone concluded with a message on humility and reassessment:
“Knowledge implies one thing: When you made a mistake, admit it.
“I think this guy is turning out to be a president.”
Recalling a comment from a military pilot involved in a classified operation during Trump’s term, Langone added:
“He said, you’re the only guy in the presidency that would have done what you did.
“One of the pilots said that. Yeah, and you know what? He’s probably right.”
With major business leaders like Langone openly reversing course and declaring confidence in Trump’s leadership, the president’s America First agenda continues to reshape both the Republican base and the broader business community’s expectations for what economic leadership looks like.
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