Trump won both the Iowa Caucus and the New Hampshire presidential primary this month, and he appears poised to sweep upcoming Republican primaries against former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who is preferred by several prominent business figures.
“Most senior businessmen I talk to can’t stand the guy. They just recognize that he’s very dangerous for the country,” said Larry Harris, a finance professor at the University of Southern California and former chief economist at Securities and Exchange Commission.
“But nobody wants to open their mouth. Because unless everybody acts simultaneously, whoever pops up gets beaten down immediately.”
J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who was throwing his weight behind Haley two months ago, praised Trump-era policies while at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this month.
“Just take a step back and be honest,” Dimon said. “He was kind of right about NATO. He was kind of right about immigration. He grew the economy quite well. Trade, tax reform worked. He was right about some of China.”
“I don’t like how he said things about Mexico, but he wasn’t wrong about some of these critical issues,” he added. Dimon also defended Trump’s supporters, urging President Biden and Democrats to “grow up.”
Stephen Schwarzman, chair and CEO of the investment firm Blackstone, has also changed his tune on Trump. The GOP mega-donor, who spoke out against Trump in November, said in Davos that he has not ruled out supporting the former president again.
“I’m in the, ‘Let’s
wait and see how this works,’” he said when asked if he would back Trump during the 2024 election. “I’m not into the hypothetical world yet, as much as you’d like me to be. And we’ll see what happens. There are always surprises in these elections.”
But most corporate figures are getting out of the former president’s crosshairs. Trump has publicly lashed out at business leaders in the past, particularly on social media.
Andrew Lokay, a senior research analyst at Beacon Policy Advisors, also noted that big business would have to deal with Trump’s protectionist policies if he were to win another term.
“In a second term, I expect Trump to take his
America First policies to the next level,” Lokay told The Hill. “He’s called for a universal tariff of 10 percent on imports from all countries, which is a move that would significantly withdraw the United States from the global economy.”
But Lokay also said some members of the business community could support the more “laissez faire” regulatory approach that would likely be favored by another Trump administration.
Big business would also likely welcome a government united under Republican control, he added. And key provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are set to expire in 2025, and Republicans are more likely to extend individual and corporate tax cuts.
“I don’t believe there’s a consensus as to what eventually will transpire here, and the reason is that there are so many potential on- and off-ramps that could affect the outcome between now and the general election,” Alpert said.
The Hill’s Julia Shapero has more here.
