new york
CNN
—
If you’re a business owner wondering this week what the next four years will hold, a pivotal moment at Davos could help you understand what it means to do business in the era of Trump 2.0. is.
ICYMI: Davos, also known as the World Economic Forum meeting held annually in the Swiss Alps, brings together key figures from the world of business, technology, investment, and economics. (Think of a long day of academic panels, followed by delicious cocktails and steaks, and an onslaught of the most elite companies on the planet.)
Unsurprisingly, President Donald Trump’s keynote address, delivered via video conference from Washington, drew a large audience. But it wasn’t President Trump’s vision of lower corporate taxes and tariffs that dominated Thursday’s happy hour, according to The New York Times’ Lauren Hirsch.
Instead, the conversation centered on Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, who thought he was holding a softball tee for the president, but quickly turned to Trump. I realized that I was aiming. What happened next was a public denunciation of one of the world’s most powerful financiers. It was a warning to the private sector that came straight from President Trump’s mouth. The government will not support “woke” ideology in the ranks of the federal government. Businesses should get involved in this too.
During the question-and-answer session, Trump touted his plan to curb inflation, then suddenly turned the focus back to Moynihan.
President Trump said, “You’ve done a great job. But I want you to start opening up the banks to conservatives because a lot of conservatives are complaining that banks don’t allow them to do business inside their banks.” Ta. “You, Jamie, everyone…what you’re doing is wrong.”
Jaws crashed to the floor, the Times reported.
What President Trump was referring to was that major financial institutions such as Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase (managed by Jamie Dimon) are “breaking up banks” of conservatives and religious groups over politics. That is the claim. Both banks have repeatedly denied the allegations, and last spring more than a dozen state auditors and treasurers wrote an open letter to Mr. Moynihan citing several instances in which accounts belonging to right-wing and religious groups had been closed. As a result, it became a hot topic on the right. under. (BofA has previously stated that these cases are not related to political or religious leanings.)
Bank of America spokesman Bill Hardin told CNN on Thursday that the bank serves 70 million customers, including conservatives, and reiterated that “there is no political litmus test.” “We have never, and never will, close any account for political reasons,” JPMorgan representative Patricia Wexler said in a statement.
The purpose of President Trump’s attack on Moynihan was not to defend a small group of people who must change banks. Importantly, it sends a warning to all executives present and everyone watching the livestream around the world that any disrespect (real or imagined) towards his base will not be tolerated. It was.
This is a surprising change for the Republican Party, which until recently had adopted a laissez-faire approach to business.
For decades, the conservative orthodoxy has pushed back against any sign of government intervention in corporate affairs, such as federal regulation or corporate taxes. But in line with President Trump’s “carrot and stick” philosophy, the calculation has changed. “Yes, we will cut taxes, but it will come at a cost.”
The “abolition of banks” argument resonates more broadly among some on the right who believe they are victims of left-wing policies entrenched in corporate America. A series of inequities snowballed into a vigorous campaign against diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, first on social media and now starting at the White House.
Bud Light may not have sparked a backlash, but its short-lived advertising partnership with a transgender influencer in 2023 poured lighter fluid on smoldering resentment on the right. After just one sponsored piece of content appears on Instagram, conservative influencers and media outlets amplify the story, creating a conspiracy narrative about “woke” culture infiltrating everything. I did. It wasn’t just coastal elites with pronouns and porous borders – it was Budweiser. The king of beer is suddenly on the side of the LGBTQ+ community.
Despite Bud Light’s attempts to capitulate and withdraw the advertising space, consumers fought back and the brand lost more than $1 billion in sales the following year.
Since then, dozens of brands, including Walmart, Ford and Target, appear to have caved to right-wing activists by announcing cuts to their DEI programs. Many of these “wins” are exaggerated by activists, as many companies like McDonald’s simply tweaked the language they use rather than changing how they operate.
Still, with Trump’s presidency, the DEI backlash has graduated from a social media campaign by a handful of mob agitators against official federal policy. This week, President Trump signed an executive order rescinding federal DEI programs and even ordered government agencies to investigate such efforts at publicly traded companies.
It was not immediately clear how many people would be laid off as a result, but dozens have already been placed on leave. “Given the broad brush they’ve painted, that could potentially be a very large number of people,” Rob Schreiber, former acting director of Human Resources Management, told NPR.
Of course, not all companies are ready to give up.
On Thursday, Costco shareholders overwhelmingly voted against a conservative proposal that would force the retailer to quantify the risks of maintaining DEI initiatives. Apple rejected a similar proposal this month. And even JPMorgan Chase, not exactly a bastion of liberalism, appeared to have drawn the line Wednesday. Asked by CNBC about the pressure on activists to abandon DEI, Dimon firmly said, “Let them continue.”
