The Wall Street Journal published a headline this week that was probably noticed in the West Wing. “For CEOs and Bankers, the Trump Euphoria Is Fading Fast,” it read.
The accompanying article added, “Corporate bigwigs are now using phrases like ‘fragility,’ ‘volatility’ and ‘wait and see’ to describe their outlooks.”
What’s more, some corporate skeptics of Donald Trump’s plans aren’t just sharing off-the-record comments with reporters. As NBC News reported, some are making their concerns public.
President Donald Trump’s tariffs, both implemented and just threatened, are causing “chaos” for the U.S. automotive industry, according to Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley. The chief executive of America’s second-largest automaker described 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, as well as threatened levies of the same amount on Mexico and Canada, as currently adding “a lot of cost, and a lot of chaos” to the industry.
“President Trump has talked a lot about making our U.S. auto industry stronger, bringing more production here, more innovation in the U.S., and if his administration can achieve that, it would be one of … the most signature accomplishments,” the Ford CEO said at a conference this week. “So far what we’re seeing is a lot of cost, and a lot of chaos.”
The executive’s comments covered a lot of other ground — he spoke at length about steel and aluminum access, for example — but he also specifically warned that some of the White House’s plans for trade tariffs would be “devastating” to auto manufacturers and “blow a hole in the U.S. industry that we’ve never seen.”
As The New York Times reported, the Ford CEO also said that if Republicans scrap investments in electric vehicle manufacturing, “many” jobs at his company “will be at risk.”
The Times’ report added, “Mr. Farley’s remarks at the conference, which was organized by Wolfe Research, offered a rare example of a corporate executive calling into question Mr. Trump’s policies or statements. In most cases executives have either offered praise or kept quiet, apparently out of fear they could prompt reprisals from the president.”
It’s reasonable to question, however, whether that’s just now starting to change. In addition to the reporting on Ford, NBC News also reported this week that Citadel CEO Ken Griffin has also warned about the adverse consequences of Trump’s combative approach to U.S. trade policy.
“From my vantage point, the bombastic rhetoric, the damage has already been done,” Griffin said at the UBS Financial Services Conference. “It’s a huge mistake to resort to this form of rhetoric when you’re trying to drive a bargain because … it tears into the minds of CEOs, policymakers that we can’t depend upon America as our trading partner.”
Griffin, it’s worth emphasizing for context, not only voted for Trump, he also has been an exceedingly generous Republican megadonor.
To be sure, two executives do not a trend make, and it’d be an overstatement to suggest private-sector giants are starting to buck the president in droves.
But as consumer confidence sags, inflation lingers and Trump’s incompetence on economic matters becomes more pronounced, the comments from the Ford and Citadel CEOs might also offer a hint of things to come. Watch this space.
