Donald Trump has been asked by Wall Street allies to stop letting ‘mini-Trump’ Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick represent him on television.
The billionaire financier’s standing in the administration has fallen in recent weeks after he was blamed for a stock market plunge following tariff threats.
The White House’s head of commerce now faces more opposition as the 63-year-old is apparently disliked by the president’s allies in the banking sector.
‘Lutnick is in one of two places, he’s either on TV or he is in the Oval Office. Trump’s friends on Wall Street have called him directly and said Lutnick should definitely not be talking about the economy, get him off TV,’ one source told the Telegraph.
The secretary has made numerous television appearances since Trump returned to Washington, often defending the president’s hard line tariff agenda.
However, financial leaders have reportedly told Trump in private that Lutnick doesn’t understand tariffs and that the president should rein him in and ban him from doing further interviews.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the White House for comment.
The White House defended Lutnick after reports cited MAGA allies criticizing him for the tumultuous season of tariffs.
Donald Trump has been asked by Wall Street elites to stop letting ‘mini-Trump’ Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick represent him on television
Financial leaders have reportedly told Trump in private that Lutnick doesn’t understand tariffs and that the president should rein him in and ban him from doing further interviews
Politico published a story blaming Lutnick – who detractors said was trying to be a ‘mini-Trump’ after a week of bad economic headlines for the president, citing five people close to the administration.
But the White House told DailyMail.com that Lutnick continued to serve as a valued member of Trump’s team.
‘Lutnick remains well-regarded and a key member of the team along with everyone else enacting the President’s trade agenda,’ a White House source told DailyMail.com, insisting the Politico story was ‘not accurate.’
The secretary is frequently seen at the president’s side, including on travel to Mar-a-Lago with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and the president’s senior advisor Elon Musk.
But sources close to the White House increasingly view Lutnick as part of the problem, citing his close proximity to the president and leadership role with negotiating the tariffs.
Now Lutnick is emerging as a fierce defender the president’s tariffs taking on a lengthy interview with CBS news host Nancy Cordes on Tuesday.
‘These policies are the most important thing America has ever had,’ Lutnick said when Cortes asked him if tariffs were still ‘worth it’ even if it tipped the economy into a recession.
‘It is worth it,’ he said. ‘The only reason there could possibly be a recession is because of the Biden nonsense that we had to live with.’
The White House has previously told DailyMail.com that Lutnick continued to serve as a valued member of Trump’s team
Lutnick (pictured right) was initially considered for Treasury Secretary but ultimately Trump chose Scott Bessent (pictured left) for the job. The commerce position was seen as a consolation prize for Lutnick
Lutnick cited Trump’s successful hard-nosed dealing with Ontario Prime Minster Doug Ford who tried to bully Trump by leveling additional tariffs on power exports to the United States, but ultimately had to abandon his proposal.
Wall Street did not react kindly to the whipsaw negotiations, as the stock market declined seven percent and consumer confidence dropped.
‘It is not chaotic,’ Lutnick said. ‘And the only one who thinks it’s chaotic is someone who’s being silly.’
Lutnick, 63, the co-chair of Trump’s transition team, will take the powerful Cabinet position that will be in charge of enacting the president-elect’s sweeping tariff reforms.
Like Trump, Lutnick is originally from the New York area and he serves as the CEO of a multibillion-dollar organization Cantor Fitzgerald and BCG Group.
Lutnick is a former Democrat, which Trump mentioned during the commerce secretary’s swearing in ceremony.
‘Even though he spent a little bit of his time in life as a Democrat from New York, I’m OK with it because I knew him during his Democrat days and that’s okay,’ he commented.
Trump said he was confident that Lutnick would help him bring the American economy back, asserting he would ‘lead the charge’ on his tariff and trade agenda.
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Howard Lutnick, on the day Lutnick is sworn in as U.S. Commerce Secretary
The secretary has urged CEOs to be patient with the president as he got aggressive with tariffs
‘There is no deal you can do that’s bigger. Every deal. That’s why you can never go back into business because it seems like small potatoes, no matter how big it is, including even Cantor Fitzgerald,’ Trump joked.
Lutnick was Trump’s transition co-chair who had the ear of the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and said he was helping with some of the personnel decisions.
‘Jared Kushner is a big help to me … he’s absolutely helping me,’ said Lutnick to System Update reporter Michael Tracey in October.
He has been a staunch Trump ally and even spoke at the Republican’s infamous Madison Square Garden rally in the heart of Manhattan days before the November 5 election.
Lutnick was initially considered for Treasury Secretary but ultimately Trump chose Scott Bessent for the job. The commerce position was seen as a consolation prize for Lutnick.
The secretary has urged CEOs to be patient with the president as he got aggressive with tariffs.
‘The markets are going to learn, let the dealmaker make his deals,’ he said in the interview with CBS.
Trump frequently turns to Lutnick in meetings, asking him to detail some of the proposals from the administration.
The proposed ‘gold card’ visa program proposed to replace EB-5 visas was seen as a brain child of Lutnick who has repeatedly been the lead spokesperson on the idea.
The program would allow wealthy foreigners to spend $5 million to earn permanent legal residency in the United State and a pathway to citizenship.