Trump Orders Goldman Sachs to Oust Its Top Economist

President Donald Trump said Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon should either replace the bank’s chief economist or “just focus on being a DJ.”

Hatzius ignored Trump’s latest remarks, reiterating that U.S. consumers will ultimately absorb much of the cost of the tariffs. (Photo: Goldman Sachs X)

The demand came after Jan Hatzius warned in a research note that U.S. consumers will increasingly bear the cost of Trump’s tariffs, Kevin Breuninger reported for CNBC.

Tariff revenue has surged in recent months, rising to nearly $28 billion in July alone, according to the Treasury Department.

Trump’s criticism of Solomon—who moonlights as a DJ—came as the president touted what he called “massive” revenue being collected by the federal government under his tariff policies.

Trump has long maintained that exporters to the U.S. pay the tariffs, but economists argue that consumers and businesses ultimately bear the burden.

“Tariffs have not caused inflation, or any other problems for America, other than massive amounts of CASH pouring into our Treasury’s coffers,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. Inflation, however, has continued to rise, though the latest data showed consumer prices increasing slightly less than expected.

Hatzius and other Goldman researchers wrote: “Our estimates imply that U.S. consumers had absorbed 22% of tariff costs through June, but their share will likely rise to 67% by October if the later tariffs have the same impact over time as the earliest tariffs.”

Trump has also repeatedly postponed some of his most severe tariffs, delaying their impact on consumers.

His global “reciprocal” tariffs, unveiled in April, were quickly put on hold and took effect only in an altered form last week. Meanwhile, tariffs on Chinese goods, which peaked as high as 145%, have been pared back to 30% since May.

Hatzius ignored Trump’s latest remarks, reiterating that U.S. consumers will ultimately absorb much of the cost of the tariffs.