“You’ll Ruin the Economy”: Business Leaders Nervous About Trump’s Tariff and Deportation Plans

Business leaders are increasingly anxious about the potential economic fallout from two key promises made by President-elect Donald Trump: imposing steep tariffs on imported goods and deporting millions of migrants. While some hope to persuade Trump to reconsider, there’s little indication he plans to back down.

Economists warn that these policies could trigger inflation and harm the economy. Speaking on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Jonathan Lemire highlighted Wall Street’s concerns, noting Trump’s focus on economic performance as a measure of his presidency’s success.

“Trump prizes the economy most of all,” Lemire said. “That’s his favorite metric whether or not his presidency is a success, and for both this idea of deportation and the tariffs idea, they’re linked here. There is some belief that business leaders and others will talk him out of it and say, ‘Look, you’ll ruin the economy if you do these things, it will damage your presidency.’ That’s possible.”

Despite these concerns, Trump has shown no signs of retreating. He has even suggested that his administration could declare a national emergency and involve the military in deportation efforts. Lemire noted that the administration appears committed to delivering on these campaign promises.

“Maybe it will narrow, but at least right now they’re talking big,” Lemire said. “They’re acting like they’re going to go through it, and these are, again, the signature promises of his campaign. Maybe, yes, maybe he’ll cut a deal, maybe he’ll make it smaller. Maybe he’ll take the win and move on to something else, but maybe not. A lot of people in this country are afraid he’ll do exactly what he says.”

Adding to economic uncertainties, Trump has empowered tech mogul Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to implement dramatic federal spending cuts, which could eliminate millions of government jobs. MSNBC’s Claire McCaskill cautioned that such cuts could threaten essential services.

“Elon Musk is talking about cutting two-thirds of the federal workforce,” McCaskill said. “If you take agencies like the Pentagon and Homeland Security aside, then we’re talking about people who deliver payments to American citizens, like Medicare and Social Security. There’s a real disconnect between how realistic a mass deportation is alongside these other promises.”

McCaskill also raised concerns about the optics and feasibility of large-scale deportations, suggesting Trump may focus on deporting individuals with criminal records to generate public support. “They’ll do really smart photo-ops with those folks,” she said. “But I think the idea of a true mass deportation is far-fetched, and I don’t think the American public will stand for it.”