JPMorgan CEO: Notion I’m not a patriot ‘dead wrong’

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon says he does not deserve some of the criticism he’s faced from progressive politicians. 

“Anything that vilifies people, I just don’t like. … We shouldn’t vilify people who worked hard to accomplish things,” he told CBS’s “60 Minutes” in an interview set to air late Sunday. 

“I understand that a person in this seat is going to be a target in this day and age by certain politicians, but the notion that I’m not a patriot … that’s just dead wrong,” he added.

{mosads}Dimon in recent weeks has become a top target of progressives over his criticism of liberal plans that would raise taxes on wealthy Americans.

“It’s really simple: Jamie Dimon and his buddies are successful in part because of the opportunities, workforce, and public services that we all paid for. It’s only fair that he and his billionaire friends chip in to make sure everyone else has a chance to succeed,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a top-tier 2020 presidential candidate, said this week. 

“The fact that they’ve reacted so strongly—so angrily!—to being asked to chip in more tells you all you need to know. The system is working great for the wealthy and well-connected, and Jamie Dimon doesn’t want that to change. I’m going to fight to make sure it works for everyone,” she added.

Dimon criticized Warren this week, saying her plans and rhetoric toward billionaires “vilifies successful people.”

“She uses some pretty harsh words, you know, some would say vilifies successful people,” Dimon told CNBC. “I don’t like vilifying anybody. I think we should applaud successful people.” 

Beyond a wealth tax that would hike taxes for Americans worth more than $50 million, Warren has made boosting taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations a centerpiece of her campaign to help pay for several of her more wide-ranging proposals.

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions when it comes to policy,” Dimon said earlier this week. “A lot of government programs have been abysmal failures, and we should acknowledge that both problems need to be fixed, and those solutions didn’t work. Let’s try something different.”