Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio warned that President Donald Trump’s trade war has pushed the U.S. economy dangerously close to recession. “I think that right now we are at a decision-making point and very close to a recession,” he said on NBC’s Meet the Press.
Dalio described the abrupt tariff changes—many delayed by 90 days except for China—as “very disruptive,” comparing the effects to “throwing rocks into the production system.”
He also voiced broader concerns about U.S. debt, the growing budget deficit, and rising geopolitical tensions. “We’re having profound changes in the world order,” Dalio said. “How that’s handled could produce something that is much worse than a recession.”
He warned that, if multiple risks materialise simultaneously, the fallout “could be more severe” than past crises like those in 1971 or 2008.
