President Donald Trump has announced a sweeping (though everchanging) tariff plan that he says will benefit American workers.

Find Out: I Asked ChatGPT What Will Get More Expensive When Trump’s Tariffs Go Into Effect, Here’s What It Said

Read Next: Are You Rich or Middle Class? 8 Ways To Tell That Go Beyond Your Paycheck

“Gone are the days of America being taken advantage of,” an official White House fact sheet states. “This plan will put the American worker first, improve our competitiveness in every area of industry, reduce our trade deficit, and bolster our economic and national security.”

On a recent episode of the “PBD Podcast,” businessman and host Patrick Bet-David explained why he supports Trump’s tariffs plan and how he believes they will ultimately benefit middle-class workers .

‘Be Patient’

While he acknowledges that tariffs may cause some financial struggles upfront, Bet-David believes the middle class will ultimately benefit from them.

“For the people that are … whining about tariffs — be patient,” he said on his podcast.

Bet-David believes that tariffs will lead to more jobs coming back to the U.S., providing more earning opportunities for middle-class workers. He noted that over the past two decades, the wealth of the upper-class has grown exponentially, while middle-class wealth has remained relatively stagnant, and believes this is due to jobs being relocated abroad.

“What happened to our middle class since 2001? What was the average median income in 2001? [The] median income [in] 2001 [was] $42,000,” he said. “Go look at what it is today. Twenty-five years later, it’s not even double. It’s gone up 80%.”

While 80% might seem like a fair amount of growth, Bet-David noted that it’s nothing compared to the explosion of wealth experience by the top 1% over the same time period. He shared that the richest man in 2001, Bill Gates, was worth around $53 billion. In 2025, the richest man is Elon Musk, who is worth $342 billion.

“So the wealthy 7X-ed [their wealth] but the median income only went up 80%,” he said. “Why? Cheaper labor in China.”

Learn More: Mark Cuban: Trump’s Tariffs Will Affect This Class of People the Most

Not All Experts Agree

Although Bet-David is confident that more domestic job opportunities that come as a result of tariffs will be a net positive for the middle class, not all experts agree with this take.

Thomas J. Cryan, tax attorney and author of “Disrupting Taxes,” previously told GOBankingRates that tariffs are likely to lead to higher prices on many everyday essentials and big-ticket purchases, raising the cost of living for middle-class Americans.

“A 25% tariff on imports will increase the cost of certain products, and will have a significant impact on consumer prices,” he said. “Though exporters and middlemen might absorb some of the cost increase due to the tariffs, for the most part, the tariffs’ costs are passed on to the consumer.”

Cryan also believes that tariffs will actually lead to fewer jobs for the middle class — not more.

“Tariffs do not gain jobs but rather create inefficiencies within the economy that destroy jobs and hurt workers,” he said. “Tariffs that protect certain industries — and jobs — will have the unintended consequences of harming other industries and the consumer via higher prices, which might slow down economic growth and trigger larger layoffs.”

Editor’s note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com .

More From GOBankingRates

Sources

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com : Here’s Why Tariffs Will Benefit the Middle Class, According to Patrick Bet-David