Home Depot co-founder and longtime GOP donor Ken Langone—once a sharp critic of Donald Trump—just delivered one of the most surprising endorsements of Trump’s second term yet.
“I am sold on Trump,” Langone declared live on CNBC. “I think he’s got a good shot at going down in history as one of our best presidents ever.”
That’s a dramatic reversal from the man who blasted Trump’s rhetoric after January 6 and previously dismissed his tariff-heavy trade agenda as “bulls–t.”
But Langone, a self-made billionaire and Wall Street legend, says something’s changed.
LANGONE: “I am sold on Trump … I think he’s got a good shot at going down in history as one of our best presidents ever.”
CNBC: “That is a real turnaround because you didn’t want to vote for him!”
LANGONE: “When you made a mistake, admit it.”
🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/8UZN5fyMpX
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 15, 2025
“When You Made a Mistake, Admit It”
In a segment that stunned CNBC’s hosts, Langone credited Trump’s post-attack leadership and rising public morale as key to his conversion.
“There’s a beat,” he said. “People are walking with more bounce… It’s all around.”
When CNBC’s Joe Kernen reminded him he once wouldn’t vote for Trump, Langone didn’t flinch:
“When you made a mistake, admit it. I think this guy is turning out to be a president.”
Trump’s Foreign Policy Move Sealed It
Langone said what solidified his support was Trump’s decisive strike on Iran last month, which crippled several underground nuclear sites using bunker-busters and Tomahawk missiles.
“One of the pilots on that miraculous trip to Iran said, ‘You’re the only guy in the presidency that would have done what you did.’ And you know what? He’s probably right,” Langone said.
From Skeptic to Believer
Just this spring, Langone was still wary of Trump’s economic moves. He called the 46% Vietnam tariffs and 34% China tariffs “damaging” and “inflationary.”
Now, he sees them differently: bold and necessary.
“What I’m seeing happening is absolutely nothing short of a great thing,” Langone said.
