Aside from Trump fan Bill Ackman and a few other outspoken mavericks, America’s corporate leaders are staying remarkably quiet about the Trump versus Biden election. But talk to them on background, and the reason for their extreme discretion becomes clear. Everyone from big name CEOs to former chiefs serving on boards and as executive chairmen to heads of private companies to famed asset managers disdain both candidates. And if they spoke frankly about either, they’d say stuff so damning that no matter who’s elected, the moguls might hurt their chances of clinching a controversial takeover or winning favor among the regulators in the next administration.
That generally negative view of Trump and Biden came through strongly in interviews this writer recently conducted with four business titans. I promised each one anonymity, and instead of covering a list of issues one at a time, asked them to simply say what they liked and disliked about each candidate and their policies. We’ll name these ultras for the names on Mount Rushmore. “George” (for Washington) is a major fund manager who has also been a CEO, and served on boards of many Fortune 500 members. “Tom” (for Thomas Jefferson) is former chief of a major manufacturer who's strongly involved in setting strategy for another F500 player. “Abe” (for Lincoln) is cofounder and CEO of a private, highly successful web-based financial services firm, and “Ted” (for Theodore Roosevelt) is CEO of a F500 consumer services giant.
