(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump chided Warren Buffett's recent move to exit his bets on the airline industry.
“He's been right his whole life, but sometimes even somebody like Warren Buffett -- I have a lot of respect for him -- they make mistakes,” Trump said Friday in a news conference at the White House. “They should have kept airline stocks, because the airline stocks went through the roof today and others did too.”
Buffett abandoned his investments in four major U.S. airlines in recent months as the coronavirus pandemic swept the nation, curbing travel across the globe. He started piling into the industry in 2016, which went against his previous swearing off of airlines after a tumultuous USAir bet. At the annual meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in May, he said the “world changed” for the airline industry.
All four companies that Berkshire previously held soared this week after American Airlines Group Inc. said it would boost July flights 74% and jobs data showed an unexpected rebound in hiring. Delta Air Lines Inc. surged more than 40% this week, while American Airlines jumped 90%, Southwest Airlines Co. climbed more than 25% and United Airlines Holdings Inc. advanced more than 60%.
Buffett's assistant didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.
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