Corporate Executives’ Concerns and Growing Criticism towards President Biden’s Policies

Corporate Executives’ Concerns

When White House Chief of Staff, Jeffrey Zients, convened with top executives in Washington recently, he faced a wave of corporate complaints regarding President Biden’s policies. Executives from the Business Roundtable, representing major corporations, raised objections to Biden’s tax increase proposals, questioned the lack of business representation in the Cabinet, and expressed discontent over perceived overregulation by federal agencies.

Growing Criticism and Shift in Sentiment

Over the past three and a half years, executives have criticized Biden for his comments on “corporate greed” and his support for union activities. They are also concerned about the appointments he has made, such as the head of the Federal Trade Commission, Lina Khan, who has taken steps to block corporate mergers. Some influential figures in Silicon Valley and Wall Street, like David Sacks, Marc Andreessen, and Kenneth Griffin, have been increasingly vocal in their criticism of Biden while praising former President Donald J. Trump.

Despite this, the shift in sentiment mainly reflects individuals who already supported Republicans but had not previously endorsed Trump. There is little evidence of a significant movement among executives away from Biden towards Trump. According to Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at the Yale School of Management, many CEOs he interacts with prefer Biden over Trump, with some showing enthusiastic support and others reluctantly holding back their opinions.