Many Americans continue to believe that the CEOs of the nation’s largest companies are largely Donald Trump supporters—but nothing could be further from the truth. Some of the confusion may arise from the simple fact that sitting CEOs generally cannot speak out publicly as they fear alienating their employees and customers and provoking a Trump retaliation. These negatives clearly outweigh the small upside that any one voice might provide, so current CEOs remain silent publicly while expressing great concern in private. But their inability to speak out publicly should not be confused with support or even lack of preference.
As recent CEOs ourselves, mostly of large, publicly traded companies, we have more discretion to speak out. Each of us stays engaged with active CEOs on a regular basis, so we are confident we are capturing the sentiment of the majority of our peers in the business community.
As Election Day nears, we cannot sit by quietly. In an election during which the economy is the top issue, the views of the CEOs who employ the vast majority of Americans are important.
Why CEOs oppose Trump
CEOs tend to be people who have worked their way up through large organizations. The CEOs of America’s largest companies almost universally oppose Trump because he is the antithesis of who they are—servant leaders who have succeeded by bringing people together to win as a team, with integrity, global thinking, and open minds.
CEOs are particularly concerned now. In his first term, Trump was surrounded—at least at the beginning—by strong, qualified leaders working to pull the country together and make us stronger, such as Gary Cohn, Rex Tillerson, Generals John Kelly, James Mattis, Mark Milley, and others who stood for service before self. In a second Trump term, he will begin with a cabinet full of election deniers and a Supreme Court ruling that he has immunity. That is a scary prospect for large-company CEOs.
This year, Trump has taken increasingly extreme anti-business, including proposing draconian, universal 10% tariffs on all imports from all countries, which would hurt businesses and consumers while raising prices across the board. Trump has also suggested he would curtail the independence of the Federal Reserve. No CEO relishes the prospect of a politicized Fed driving destabilizing see-saw swings in monetary policy to satisfy presidential whims.
Why CEOs support Harris
While each of us has different political affiliations, we are coming together to vote for Kamala Harris in this presidential election—and we believe the majority of sitting CEOs will do the same.
Based on our own prior leadership of some of the nation’s largest enterprises, we see little evidence of the “disaster and nightmare” Trump claims the American economy is in. Indeed, business has flourished with strong economic growth and record stock market valuations, while employees have benefitted from strong wage growth and record employment levels. That economic strength is reflected in headline macroeconomic statistics, which remain strong with 3% real GDP growth, falling inflation with CPI at ~2%, and real incomes outpacing inflation with a steady growth rate of 5.1%. It is no wonder that the World Bank is saying the impressive strength of the U.S. economy drove 80% of its improved global growth outlook this year.
Importantly, we fear a second Trump term would be bad for business and the U.S. economy. An environment where the rule of law is increasingly questioned, economic stability is at risk, free trade is stifled by fear of capricious retaliation, and our society is further divided rather than united, is not a good formula for a vibrant economy.
Almost 200 years ago, Alexis de Tocqueville spoke of the importance of social capital—the implicit community and neighborly trust that undergirds the fabric of American society and how respect for the rule of law rather than the law of rulers underlies our market economy and social harmony.
To business leaders, that social capital is just as vital as financial capital. American companies and the U.S. economy are now the envy of the world, but that prosperity—unparalleled in world history—is dependent upon the societal trust, cohesion, and collegiality that have long enabled the American economy. And it is clear to us that Harris is the candidate who will best safeguard the continued prosperity, growth, and success of the American economy, companies, and workers.
Doug Parker is a former CEO of American Airlines. Ken Frazier is a former CEO of Merck. Anne Mulcahy is a former CEO of Xerox. Ursula Burns is a former CEO of Xerox. Reid Hoffman is a former CEO of LinkedIn. Jeff Bewkes is a former CEO of Time Warner. Bob Diamond is a former CEO of Barclays. Matt Levatich is a former CEO of Harley-Davidson. Tom Glocer is a former CEO of Thomson Reuters. Kay Koplovitz is a former CEO of USA Network. Robert Wolf is a former CEO of UBS Americas. Blake Irving is a former CEO of GO Daddy. Michael Lynton is the chairman Snap and former CEO of Sony Pictures. Ken Chenault is a former CEO of American Express Co. Tony Coles is a former CEO of Onyx Pharmaceuticals and Yumanity Pharmaceuticals. Roger Altman is the chairman of Evercore and its former CEO. Ellen Kullman is a former CEO of DuPont. John Pepper is a former CEO of Procter & Gamble. Bill George is former CEO of Medtronic. They also have years of service as board directors at: Amgen, Dell, Emerson Electric, Exxon Mobil, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Merck, Morgan Stanley, Regeneron, and Uber. This article was authored by the aforementioned CEOs in association with Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute.
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