'Orange Monday' hits Donald Trump loyalists hard as biggest supporters begin to turn on tariffs
New York City: President Donald Trump's tariffs are beginning to hit some of his fiercest supporters and they're beginning to call him out. Fox News business experts Maria Bartiromo admitted on-air that Trump’s proposed tariffs could trigger a recession — just hours after offering a more optimistic outlook before Monday’s market opening.
Bartiromo’s assessment came as Trump threatened to impose an additional 50% tariff on Chinese goods if Beijing refused to drop its retaliatory 34% tariff by Tuesday. The president also warned that trade negotiations with China would be canceled if they did not back down.
During a segment on America’s Newsroom, Bartiromo acknowledged the potential economic fallout as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted in real-time on the ticker beside her. Host Dana Perino had asked whether everyday Americans would feel the brunt of economic instability caused by Trump’s tariffs.
Despite being a well-known Trump loyalist, Bartiromo delivered a surprising prognosis. “It will have an effect,” she said, contradicting her earlier remarks on Mornings With Maria, where she suggested the market might recover by the close. “Some things will become higher priced. We’ll see some products actually raising prices because companies will pass on the cost of tariffs to consumers.”
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She went further, warning of a potential recession. “That’s why you have some people saying we could see a recession. We’ll see a growth slowdown.” Bartiromo cited a forecast from Nancy Lazar, Chief Global Economist at Piper Sandler, who predicted that if tariffs remain in place for six months, US GDP could decline by 1% in the second and third quarters, with unemployment rising.
However, she noted that Trump had previously warned of economic “disruption,” adding, “We’re in the disruption right now.”
Newsmax host Jon Glasgow admitted he was shocked after checking his retirement savings. “I looked at my 401(k) and gasped,” he said during an interview with former Sen. Rick Santorum. Glasgow questioned whether Americans would give the Trump administration a “grace period” to see if its trade strategy pays off. Santorum acknowledged the market volatility as a “huge problem” but argued that younger investors would fare better than those nearing retirement.
“You’re in your thirties or maybe forties, and your portfolio looks a lot different than someone who’s gonna retire this year,” Santorum said. Still, he admitted that even those five to 10 years away from retirement had taken a “dramatic hit.”
Santorum defended Trump’s aggressive stance, framing the tariffs as a bold negotiation tactic to achieve “free trade.” “What Trump is saying is, we can negotiate free trade and get screwed again, or we can come out guns-a-blazin’ and get these folks to come to reality,” he said.
The market chaos even drew criticism from typically pro-Trump Dave Portnoy. The founder of Barstool Sports and a vocal conservative, unleashed a fiery rant on X as stocks tumbled.
Portnoy, who claimed to have lost $20 million due to the tariffs, blasted Trump’s policies and sarcastically dubbed April 7, 2025, 'Orange Monday'.
“This is a decision that one guy made that crashed the whole stock market,” Portnoy fumed. “The stock market is getting crushed. I’ve lost 20 percent of my net worth.” He also mocked Trump for golfing while the markets tanked.
Portnoy argued that economic downturns hurt more than just the wealthy. “You think if I’m losing money, if the stock market is tanking, that only affects rich people? We’re probably affected the least,” he said. He explained that businesses cut advertising budgets in recessions, leading to layoffs — a ripple effect that harms workers across industries.