Donald Trump, the President of the United States, has demanded that David Solomon, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, replace their Chief Economist, claiming that Goldman Sachs’ tariff forecasts were incorrect. Concerns are being raised on Wall Street that economic forecasts not aligning with President Trump’s views could lead to becoming a public target.
On the 12th, President Trump stated on Truth Social that “trillions of dollars are pouring in through tariffs,” which he believes is “extremely good for America,” yet claims that David Solomon and Goldman Sachs do not acknowledge this achievement. He criticized, “Goldman Sachs has long been wrong in predicting market impacts and tariff policies and continues to be so in many other areas.”
President Trump added, “David should bring in a new economist,” and sarcastically suggested that if not, Solomon should focus more on his DJ activities rather than managing a large financial institution. This mocking remark references Solomon’s hobby as a DJ, which he halted at public events due to criticism claiming it negatively affected the bank’s image.
Trump’s post is interpreted as targeting Jan Hatzius, the Chief Economist at Goldman Sachs, and his team. Hatzius is one of many economists who predicted that tariff policies would harm the labor market, fuel inflation, and lead to a slowdown in U.S. economic growth. On the 11th, Hatzius released a report stating that while U.S. consumers had borne 22% of the tariff costs up to June, based on past patterns, this burden could increase to 67% in the future.
This contradicts President Trump’s claim that tariffs will not lead to price increases and that foreign governments and companies, not U.S. consumers, will bear the tariff costs. Interestingly, the core consumer price index (CPI) slightly exceeded expectations in July, but commodity prices only rose modestly, alleviating concerns that tariffs might drive inflation and expanding prospects for a rate cut in September.
President Trump continues to challenge those releasing data or forecasts that are unfavorable to his policy implementation. Earlier this month, after disappointing government employment figures, he dismissed the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and nominated E.J. Antoni, the chief economist at the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, as a replacement.
President Trump shows no hesitation in criticizing or directing private companies. Last week, he pressured Intel’s CEO Pat Gelsinger to resign over China’s business ties but took a softer stance after meeting at the White House. Additionally, he has urged Coca-Cola to use American-grown sugarcane sugar and pressured auto manufacturers and Walmart to refrain from price increases due to tariffs.