“Oracle of Omaha” Warren Buffett had a busy day Saturday. In addition to shocking shareholders with news that he plans to retire at the end of the year, he also weighed in on how President Donald Trump is handling the economy.
In particular, he offered his thoughts on tariffs that have been a key part of Trump’s economic strategy. While the president hopes these tariffs will bring jobs to the U.S. and boost the economy, Buffett – a renowned investor – has bit of a different view.
“Trade should not be a weapon,” Buffett said at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Neb., according to CNBC, which noted that the investor did not name Trump directly. “I do think that the more prosperous the rest of the world becomes, it won’t be at our expense, the more prosperous we’ll become, and the safer we’ll feel, and your children will feel someday.”
Buffet also noted that tariffs can be seen as “an act of war” and that he views that as a bad thing.
“In the United States, I mean, we should be looking to trade with the rest of the world and we should do what we do best and they should do what they do best,” the 94-year-old investing legend said.
Trump began announcing tariff plans soon after he was inaugurated earlier this year. Many went into effect this month, and more are still on the horizon amid a 90 day pause on certain tariffs. According to Yahoo Finance, the tariffs have resulted in the government collecting more than $17.4 billion in “Customs and Certain Excise Taxes” last month, nearly double March’s haul of $9.6 billion.
“Gasoline just broke $1.98 a Gallon, lowest in years, groceries (and eggs!) down, energy down, mortgage rates down, employment strong, and much more good news, as Billions of Dollars pour in from Tariffs,” said Trump in a Friday Truth Social post. “Just like I said, and we’re only in a TRANSITION STAGE, just getting started!!! Consumers have been waiting for years to see pricing come down. NO INFLATION, THE FED SHOULD LOWER ITS RATE!!!”
Another economic win cropped up Friday with the release of the latest jobs report. With nonfarm payroll employment increasing by 177,000 in April, the report was better than expected. Still, the Wall Street Journal said the report might demonstrate how the U.S. economy is “showing remarkable resilience in the face of enormous pressure.”
“Many economists and investors warn the worst impacts from tariffs are still on the horizon,” said Fortune magazine this week. It also said that the positive economic signals might be more attributable to a resilient U.S. economy than Trump’s policies. Yahoo Finance also said that the tariffs also came with a drop in shipping volume.
As Fortune noted, Buffett isn’t the only expert on the economy who has raised eyebrows at the approach, which sent Wall Street on a roller coaster ride. During his Saturday remarks, he also criticized “protectionist” policies, per CNBC.
“It’s a big mistake, in my view, when you have seven and a half billion people that don’t like you very well, and you got 300 million that are crowing in some way about how well they’ve done - I don’t think it’s right, and I don’t think it’s wise,” Buffett said. “The United States won. I mean, we have become an incredibly important country, starting from nothing 250 years ago. There’s not been anything like it.”
The quarterly report for Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway was also released Saturday.
“Our periodic operating results may be affected in future periods by impacts of ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical events, as well as changes in industry or company-specific factors or events,” it said, in part. “The pace of changes in these events, including international trade policies and tariffs, has accelerated in 2025. Considerable uncertainty remains as to the ultimate outcome of these events. We are currently unable to reliably predict the potential impact on our businesses, whether through changes in product costs, supply chain costs and efficiency, and customer demand for our products and services. It is reasonably possible there could be adverse consequences on most, if not all, of our operating businesses, as well as on our investments in equity securities, which could significantly affect our future results.”
Like Buffett and economic experts, the general public is also concerned about Trump’s tariff plan. Last week, AP-NORC poll results found that around 60% of U.S. adults disapproved of how Trump was handling the economy. This Friday, new AP NORC poll results were released that show 57% of U.S. adults also feel Trump “has gone too far in using presidential power to achieve his goals.”