New York
CNN
–
In the event that some corporate executives were this week wondering how the next four years will be, a rather revealing moment in Davos should give them an idea of what it means doing business in the era of Trump 2.0.
In case you missed it: Davos, also known as the World Economic Forum in Swiss Alps, brings together the most important figures in the world in business, technology, investment and economy. (Think of long days of academic panels followed by friendly cocktails and steaks and the most elitist corporate gossip on the planet).
Naturally, the opening speech of the US president, Donald Trump (who made by videoconference from Washington) had good assistance. But it was not Trump’s vision of corporate taxes or lower tariffs that dominated the Happy Hour Thursday, according to Lauren Hirsch of the New York Times.
Instead, the talk focused on Brian Moynihan, the CEO of the Bank of America, who thought he was preparing an easy ball for the president, but soon realized that he was in Trump’s sights. What happened was a public reprimand to one of the most powerful financials in the world, a warning to the private sector, directly from Trump’s mouth: the administration will not tolerate the “Woke” ideology in the ranks of the federal government, and the companies also They must echo that.
During the questions and answers, Trump promoted his plans to reduce inflation before abruptly focusing the attention in Moynihan.
“He has done a fantastic job, but I hope he begins to open his bank to conservatives, because many conservatives complain that banks do not allow them to do business,” Trump said. “You, Jamie and all … what you are doing is wrong.”
The jaws fell to the ground, according to the Times.
What Trump referred to is an accusation that the main lenders, including Bank of America and Jpmorgan Chase (led by Jamie Dimon), have been “unseating” conservative and religious groups due to their policies. Both banks have repeatedly denied the accusation, which became an issue of conversation on the right the past spring after more than a dozen auditors and state treasurers wrote an open letter to Moynihan, citing some examples in which accounts were closed of religious or right -wing organizations. (Bank of America had declared that these cases were not related to any political or religious inclination).
Bank of America spokesman Bill Haldin, reiterated to CNN on Thursday that the bank serves 70 million customers, including conservatives, and that it does not have “no political fire test”. And the JPMorgan representative, Patricia Wexler, said in a statement: “We have never closed and we would never close an account for political reasons, point.”
The goal of Trump’s criticism to Moynihan was not to defend a handful of groups that had to change bank. The objective was to send a warning to all executives in the room and all those who were watching live broadcast worldwide. The message was that no reheater, real or imaginary, against its base will be tolerated.
It is a surprising change for a Republican party that, until recently, had adopted a Laissez-Faire approach for business.
For decades, conservative orthodoxy was bristling before any sign of government interference in corporate affairs, either through federal regulations or corporate taxes. But the calculation has changed in line with the philosophy of the carrot and Trump’s stick: surely we will reduce its taxes, but that will cost.
The affirmation of the “dismissal” reflects a broader sense among some on the right that believe they are victims of a leftist agenda that has been rooted in the US corporate world. A series of perceived injustices have become an active campaign (at the beginning on social networks, now from the White House) against the initiatives of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
Bud Light may not be responsible for this reaction, but its brief advertising association of 2023 with an influencer Trans threw more firewood to the fire resentments of the right. After a single content sponsored on Instagram appeared, the influencers and conservative media exploded the story until it became a conspiracy narrative about the infiltration of the “Wake” culture in everything. It was not only the coastal elites with their pronouns and porous borders: it was Budweiser. The king of beers, suddenly on the side of the LGBTQ community.
Even when Bud Light capitulated and tried to reverse the ad, consumers rebelled and the brand lost more than US $ 1 billion in sales in the following year.
Since then, dozens of brands (Walmart, Ford and Target, to appoint only some) have apparently ceded before right -wing activists by announcing reductions in their dei programs. Many of those “triumphs” are exaggerated by activists, since many of the companies, such as McDonald’s, have simply modified the language they use instead of altering their operations.
However, with Trump’s rise to the Presidency, the reaction against the policies of the Policies has gone from being a campaign in social networks by a handful of agitators to the official federal government policy. This week, Trump signed decrees that cut the federal programs ofi and even ordered government agencies to investigate such campaigns in the companies that are quoted in the stock market.
It is not clear at the moment how many people would be fired as a result of this decision, although dozens in administrative license have already been put. The former interim director of the Personnel Management Office, Rob Shriver, told NPR that “given the fat brush they have painted, it is potentially a very large amount of people.”
Of course, not all companies are willing to throw in the towel.
On Thursday, Costco’s shareholders voted overly against a proposal from a group of conservative experts that would have forced the retailer to quantify the risks of maintaining their Dei initiatives. Apple rejected a similar proposal this month. And even JPMorgan Chase, which is not exactly a bastion of liberalism, seemed on Wednesday to draw a dividing line. Dimon, consulted by the CNBC on the pressure of the activists to leave the policies ofi, remained firm and said: “to try.”
(Tagstotranslate) Donald Trump (T) Davos (T) Bank of America
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