As the stock market reeled Friday from President Donald Trump’s move to institute widespread global tariffs, Trump shared a video on Truth Social that erroneously claimed legendary investor Warren Buffett praised his recent economic policies.
Here's a closer look at the facts.
CLAIM: Warren Buffett said President Donald Trump is “is making the best economic moves he’s seen in 50 years.”
THE FACTS: This is false. Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett's company, issued a statement shortly after Trump posted the video, calling reports on social media attributing comments to Buffett “false.” Buffett told a reporter Friday that he won't be commenting on the economy until Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting later this spring.
“There are reports currently circulating on social media (including Twitter, Facebook and TikTok) regarding comments allegedly made by Warren E. Buffett. All such reports are false,” reads the Berkshire Hathaway statement.
The company did not specify which reports the statement was referring to and did not respond to requests for clarification.
In the video the president shared, a voiceover states as it shows a clip of Buffett: “Trump is purposely crashing the stock market by 20% this month, but he's doing it on purpose. And this is why Warren Buffett just said Trump is making the best economic moves he's seen in over 50 years.”
The video's audio comes from a March 13 Instagram post.
CNBC reporter Becky Quick reported Friday that Buffett said any quotes circulating on social media about the current economic situation that are purportedly from him are not authentic.
“He says that he’s not talking to anybody about anything related to the markets, the economy or tariffs, and that he will not be doing that between now and the annual meeting for Berkshire Hathaway, which takes place on Saturday, May 3,” Quick said in a CNBC segment.
However, Buffett did speak briefly about tariffs in an interview for CBS News' "Sunday Morning” that aired March 2.
“Tariffs are actually, we’ve had a lot of experience with them. They’re an act of war to some degree,” he said in response to a question on how he thinks tariffs will effect the economy.
He was vaguer when asked how he sees the state of the economy saying, “I can’t talk about it now, I really can’t.”
In recent years, Buffett has stopped commenting on politics or other controversial subjects because, he has said, he doesn’t want to hurt Berkshire’s businesses by offending anyone. The longtime Democrat hasn’t publicly backed any candidates for office since Hillary Clinton ran for president.
He did offer advice addressed to “Uncle Sam” in his most recent annual letter to shareholders, reminding the country that “we need you to maintain a stable currency and that result requires both wisdom and vigilance on your part.”
Representatives for Trump did not respond to a request for comment.
The S&P 500 lost 6% Friday after China matched Trump’s big raise in tariffs announced earlier this week. The move increased the stakes in a trade war that could end with a recession.
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Associated Press writer Josh Funk contributed to this report.
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Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.
Melissa Goldin, The Associated Press
