In a recent panel discussion at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon expressed his disapproval of Democrats’ strategy of criticizing supporters of former President Donald Trump.
He articulated his viewpoint on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” stating that such an approach was akin to “scapegoating” the nearly 75 million voters who backed Trump in the 2020 elections.
Dimon’s comments were made in the context of a broader discussion about the role the economy would play in the upcoming 2024 presidential race. The banking executive expressed his lack of optimism regarding the future state of the U.S. economy, citing concerns over a range of issues he believes the nation will confront in the next couple of years.
BREAKING – EXPLOSIVE: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon tells CNBC people are voting for Trump because he was right about the economy, immigration, and China, says people should be a bit more respectful of MAGA people. They know what they are doing. WATCH pic.twitter.com/fMHgLrZF0d
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) January 17, 2024
The JPMorgan CEO, who has been known to be close to former President Barack Obama and had even contemplated running for president in 2020, took issue with Democrats’ tendency to equate Trump’s supporters with the former President himself. “When people say ‘MAGA,’ they’re looking at people voting for Trump, and they’re basically scapegoating them, [saying] ‘You are like him,'” Dimon stated.
Going further, Dimon argued that Trump’s supporters were not backing him due to his personal attributes but because of his stance on critical issues. “He was kind of right about NATO, he was kind of right about immigration, he grew the economy quite well, tax reform worked, he was right about some of China,” Dimon noted.
Despite previous public disagreements with Trump, wherein Dimon claimed he could beat Trump in an election due to his toughness and intellect, the JPMorgan CEO acknowledged the former president’s policy achievements. He suggested that Trump’s positions on key issues were valid reasons for voters to support him.
The problem with banker Jamie Dimon running for President is that he doesn’t have the aptitude or “smarts” & is a poor public speaker & nervous mess – otherwise he is wonderful. I’ve made a lot of bankers, and others, look much smarter than they are with my great economic policy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 13, 2018
Finally, Dimon expressed his disappointment with the ongoing negative rhetoric aimed at Trump supporters, harking back to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 “deplorables” comment. He called for more respect towards fellow citizens and cautioned that the continued disparagement of MAGA supporters could potentially harm Biden’s re-election campaign.
