Subject: Business leaders afraid of Trump
I can’t remember a time when business leaders would be afraid to express their opinions for fear of revenge from a president.

https://www.wsj.com/business/i...

Inside the Room Where CEOs Say What They Really Think of Trump’s Policies
America’s top executives worry about moves that many see as state capitalism and pressure on the Federal Reserve

By Chip Cutter, The Wall Street Journal

Business leaders voiced concerns over tariffs, immigration, and a chaotic business environment at a Yale School of Management meeting….

“They’re being extorted and bullied individually, but in private discourse, they’re really upset,” said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a Yale management professor who organized the event, referring to recent deals that give the U.S. government a cut of certain Nvidia chip sales and a “golden share” in U.S. Steel….

Other attendees included the heads of major manufacturers, consumer brands, automakers, technology companies and investment firms. Many who shared their concerns Wednesday in the confines of a private conference room didn’t want to speak publicly for fear that their companies could be targeted by the administration or that they could attract criticism from Trump….

Asked if tariffs had been helpful or hurtful to their businesses, 71% of respondents described the levies as harmful….About three quarters of respondents said courts were correct in saying the tariffs are illegal as executed….Executives also said U.S. consumers and domestic importing companies were the ones bearing the brunt of the costs on tariffs, not international exporting companies or countries….

CEOs were nearly unanimous in expressing displeasure about Trump’s efforts to pressure Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates: 80% of respondents said Trump wasn’t acting in the best long-term interests of America by doing so. In another question, 71% of respondents said the Fed’s independence had been eroded by Trump’s actions…. [end quote]

State capitalism is the current jargon for Trump’s strong-arming companies. The execs don’t like it. But they were afraid to attract the malign attention of Trump by stepping up and saying so by name in the WSJ (the CEO of Snap-on tools).

These execs have succeeded in the free market. It’s a sad day when they are afraid to stand up and say so.

Trump is the Godfather. The U.S. is turning into a criminal, corrupt fascist country which has abandoned the rule of law with astonishing rapidity.

Wendy