The former White House communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, slammed President Donald Trump’s recent tariff policy shift, saying that wiping out $8 trillion in stock market value in an effort to fix a $1.2 trillion trade deficit “makes no sense.”
In a viral post on X, Scaramucci reminded followers that, “firemen and police officers and other service providers have their retirement in the U.S. stock market.”
He argued that the idea of tanking market value for the sake of closing the trade gap is flat-out unreasonable.
“The notion that we would destroy $8 trillion worth of capital in the hopes of closing a $1.2 trillion trade deficit is non-sensical”
Market Panic and a Sudden Reversal
The backlash came amid Trump’s unexpected decision to pause higher tariffs for 90 days. This move came just days after Trump and his team dismissed reports of a possible pause as baseless.
When the pause was officially announced, markets soared. Critics immediately accused the administration of playing games with investor sentiment.
Scaramucci called the move political theater: “As predicted: the arsonist set the house on fire and is now cheering himself for bringing out the fire hose.”
While the White House insists the pause was part of a broader strategy, many aren’t buying it. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “We’ve had more than 75 countries contact us, and I imagine, after today, there will be more.”
But the timing raised eyebrows. Just before the pause, there was widespread criticism from Republicans, anxiety in the bond market, and general public concern about economic stability.
As one user pointed out: “Yesterday it was leaked that the administration was gonna pause tariffs for 90 days, and stock market momentarily skyrocketed on what proved to be a rumor. Today a 90 day pause was officially announced, and stocks skyrocketed. This was by design. Who profited?”
Scaramucci’s initial tweet came before the tariff pause was announced. At the time, markets were reeling, and the administration appeared fully committed to raising tariffs across the board.
The sudden shift added to the sense of confusion among investors and trading partners.
Mixed Reactions From Public and Experts
The online debate lit up. Some argued that long-term investors would ride out the storm. One user wrote, “And if they’re not retiring tomorrow, they’ll be fine.”
Others pointed out that even those not directly invested in the market would feel the impact. “Public companies that have dramatic drops in stock prices will do layoffs,” one user noted.
“Fifty-five percent of Americans are employed by publicly traded companies.”
Still, some downplayed the concerns. “Does the stock market ever go up after it goes down?” one user asked rhetorically.
Critics of the Critics
Not everyone agreed with Scaramucci’s tone. “Don’t be a Scaramucci,” one user joked.
Still, Scaramucci doubled down, even mocking Trump directly: “Riddle: What do you call someone who is very, very stupid but thinks they are incredibly smart? Answer: Donald Trump Stupid or DTS.”
Big Picture Still Unclear
In the short term, Trump’s 90-day pause was enough to calm the markets. But a broader 10% tariff is still in place, and tariffs on China were raised to 125%.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump was “reeling” and called his approach “governing by chaos.”
With little clarity on what happens after the 90-day pause, many fear the volatility could return.
For Scaramucci, the concern is more than political. For the millions of Americans whose retirements depend on the stock market, that trade-off is personal.