Eighty-eight American business leaders have written a letter endorsing Kamala Harris for president. This development may surprise those who assume that corporate business leaders lean Republican. But a close look at the signers, as well as the history of the relationship between business and government, reveals that while this is not some kind of watershed moment in terms of big business’ relationship with political leaders, it does signal that Republicans have some work to do in terms of their relationship with business.
The list of signers is far from a listing of 88 current Fortune 500 CEOs. Some 40 are “formers,” reflecting the fact that sitting business leaders need to be careful in being too explicitly on one side or the other of America’s deepening political divide. Others, like former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, are from academia more than from the business world. While the letter reveals that many business leaders are supportive of Harris, it does not suggest that the whole business world is on her side. Donald Trump has his own coterie of business leaders on his side, including Elon Musk, Steve Schwarzman, Bill Ackman, and Marc Andreessen.
