Trump was kind of right about NATO, per Dimon
Jamie Dimon has a warning for Democrats: Don’t dismiss Trump supporters as people who are solely attracted to his personality. According to the JPMorgan CEO, former President Donald Trump was right about some critical issues.
“I wish the Democrats would think a little more carefully when they talk about MAGA,” Dimon told CNBC from the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Dimon, who has had clashes with Trump in the past and has described himself as “barely a Democrat,” said people are “basically scapegoating” Trump supporters. He believes Democrats use the “MAGA” label to accuse Trump supporters of being like the former president instead of addressing their underlying concerns.
“I don’t think they are voting for Trump because of his family values,” Dimon said. “Just take a step back and be honest: He was kind of right about NATO. He was kind of right about immigration. He grew the economy quite well. Tax reform worked.”
Dimon also noted that Trump was correct about some of his criticisms of China.
“I don’t like how he said things about Mexico,” Dimon said, referring to Trump’s 2015 announcement of his candidacy when he said the country was sending criminals and rapists into the United States. “But he wasn’t wrong about some of these critical issues, and that’s why they’re voting for him.”
Of course, Trump’s critics argue that his policies failed to address underlying issues such as inequality and illegal immigration. Many opponents believe his alleged criminal behavior while in office and after should disqualify him from winning the Republican nomination. Trump faces 91 charges in four criminal cases, including efforts to overturn the 2020 election, though he denies any wrongdoing.
Dimon’s comments are noteworthy not only because he is one of the most influential CEOs in the world but also because he has previously clashed with Trump.
In May, Dimon said Trump doesn’t understand the debt ceiling and what’s at stake, telling Bloomberg Television it’s just “one more thing he doesn’t know very much about.”
Dimon’s support for Trump’s presidential rival Nikki Haley has also irked the former president.
“Highly overrated Globalist Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMORGAN, is quietly pushing another non-MAGA person, Nikki Haley, for President,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social in late November. “I’ve never been a big Jamie Dimon fan, but had to live with this guy when he came begging to the White House. I guess I don’t have to live with him anymore, and that’s a really good thing.”
Nonetheless, Dimon on Wednesday urged Trump critics to be “a little more respectful of our fellow citizens” and ask why they are supporting Trump. He recalled previous comments from Democrats criticizing voters, including Hillary Clinton’s 2016 description of some Trump supporters as “deplorables” and former President Barack Obama’s 2008 comments about people in the Midwest clinging to “guns or religion.”
“I mean, really?” Dimon said. “Can we stop that stuff and actually grow up and treat other people respectfully and listen to them a little bit?…I think this negative talk about MAGA is going to hurt Biden’s election campaign.”