How a CEO and Trump donor is weaponizing tariffs against his rivals

Deep Dive Business How a CEO and Trump donor is weaponizing tariffs against his rivals May 17, 20265:00 AM ET By  Maria Aspan Cambria CEO Marty Davis speaks on the job site of the countertop company's new $80 million quartz processing plant and rail center in Randolph, Minn., on August 13, 2025. (Photo by The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images) Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via Getty Images/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via Getty Images/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images Marty Davis has held many roles over his career, from Minnesota farmboy to kitchen-countertop mogul. But recently, his ties to President Trump have turned this wealthy CEO into a business lightning rod. Davis owns and runs Cambria, a private Minnesota company that manufactures the quartz used for kitchen and bathroom countertops. It's a $500 million company that employs roughly 1,800 people — and that's just one piece of his billionaire family's dynasty, which once included both a local dairy empire and the budget carrier Sun Country Airlines. Sponsor Message Economy He wants children's bikes made in the U.S.A. — and tariffs against his rivals Business How Trump's 'crony capitalism' has shaken up U.S. business A plain-spoken Midwesterner, Davis publicly embraces the role of a small-business owner who grew up working in the family dairy factory and married his high school sweetheart. In a recent interview with NPR, he repeatedly invoked Main Street, American manufacturing jobs, and what he calls "free and fair trade." "Free and fair trade has to prevail, or the American manufacturer will be gone, and these jobs will leave," Davis says. "And they are jobs that really promote a healthy middle class." But now Davis has picked a bitter fight with Cambria's competitors, who tell a radically different story: They claim that this wealthy CEO and Trump donor is destroying jobs, especially at small businesse...