As the presidential election remains incredibly close and former President Donald Trump continues to promise retribution if elected, some billionaires are keeping their criticism of the Republican nominee at bay, The Washington Post reported Monday.
When Trump announced his latest candidacy in March 2023, the Republican nominee told prospective voters: “I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed: I am your retribution,” promising to seek revenge on what he claims was a stolen election in 2020.
Since then, Trump has repeatedly promised to go after his political enemies if elected, at times going so far as to suggest the military be used to go after “the enemies within,” referring to Democrats and others on the left.
But the threat extends beyond liberals. Corporate executives who were previously critical of Trump have deliberately kept their mouths shut in recent months, sources told the Post. Some have even chosen to remain entirely neutral in the election, revoking their prior support Democratic support in fear.
The Post’s report comes after their billionaire owner and founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos reportedly intervened to prevent the paper from endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris. The move sparked criticism and outrage among readers and staff. It came after Trump blamed Bezos for critical coverage of him,.
“Business Executives and Shareholder Representatives should be 100% behind Donald Trump! Anybody that’s not should be FIRED for incompetence!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post over the summer.
Two Trump campaign advisers told the Post that some CEOs have been reaching out in an eleventh-hour attempt to show their support.
“I’ve told CEOs to engage as fast as possible because the clock is ticking … . If you’re somebody who has endorsed Harris, and we’ve never heard from you at any point until after the election, you’ve got an uphill battle,” the adviser told the Post. “People are back-channeling, looking at their networks — they’re talking to lobbyists to see what they can do to connect with the president and his team.”
