Druckenmiller uneasy with Trump rhetoric
Billionaire fund manager and FX trader Stanley Druckenmiller got out of everything on on May 6 and moved to Treasuries. He made the move after Trump tweeted about increasing tariffs on China.
"When the Trump tweet went out, I went from 93% invested to net flat and bought a bunch of Treasurys," Druckenmiller said at an event in New York. "Not because I'm trying to make money, I just I don't want to play in this environment."
It proved to be the right move with bonds rallying and equities falling. It's an interesting view on how a billionaire can be so quick and decisive.
"I actually own a lot of Treasurys and when I bought them I wasn't sure rates were going to go down, what I was sure was that they weren't going to go up," he said.
Looking ahead, he increasingly believes that tariffs will be a key part of Trump's toolkit going forward.
Trump "wants to run on tariffs. He thinks they are a winning formula in the swing states and the belligerent, sort of verbose pressure he's putting - and the braggadocio toward China - he's giving Xi Jinping no off ramp to make a deal," Druckenmiller said.
