Over Half of US CEOs Back Trump to Boost Global Economy

More than half of US CEOs (52%) strongly favour Donald Trump to boost the global economy if he wins the US election compared with just 15% for Kamala Harris.

However, CEOs outside of America are split roughly equally between Harris and Trump as to which one would be better for the world economy. 

Whoever wins, 77% of CEOS say the outcome will affect their business strategy, with trade policy and immigration having the most impact on them.

Over a third of CEOs (35%) see inflation as the most critical economic issue facing their countries, followed by boosting consumer confidence (30%) and energy prices (25%).

Marketing technology platform Stagwell surveyed 100 CEOs worldwide about their attitudes towards next week’s US election. 

CEOs coming out for Harris

Earlier this week, a group of former CEOs who led major US companies — including American Airlines, LinkedIn, Xerox, and American Express — wrote an open letter to Fortune magazine backing Harris for president. 

The group included former LinkedIn CEO Reid Hoffman, former American Airlines CEO Doug Parker, former American Express CEO Ken Chenault, former Sony CEO and current Snap chairman Michael Lynton.

“Many Americans continue to believe that the CEOs of the nation's largest companies are largely Donald Trump supporters — but nothing could be further from the truth,” they wrote.

Signatories said they were speaking out on behalf of current CEOs, who had to stay silent because of potential consequences to their businesses.

CEOs who have come out for Trump

Elon Musk is the most obvious example of a US CEO who has come out in support of Donald Trump, going so far as to appear onstage with him at rallies, donating over US$110m in campaign funding, and, controversially, offering registered voters who sign up to his right-leaning petition the chance to win up to US$1m a day.

Trump however has claimed that Google CEO Sundar Pichai called to congratulate him after his recent McDonald’s publicity stunt, where the president was photographed serving burgers at a drive-thru.

“This McDonald’s thing, I want to tell you, it’s one of the biggest things we’ve seen on Google,” Trump said Pichai told him.

Trump has also said that Apple CEO Tim Cook telephoned him to complain about the European Union fining Apples this year and somehow implying that a re-elected President Trump could intervene. 

Trump said he told Cook, “But Tim, I got to get elected first, but I’m not going to let them take advantage of our companies - that won’t, you know , be happening.”

The Apple CEO often met with President Trump when he was in office and served on advisory panels influencing policy decisions that affect Apple’s business, such as tariffs and immigration. 

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, is another technology titan who Trump claims offered his support. According to Trump, Zuckerberg telephoned the president and told him, “I’ve never voted a Republican before, but there’s no way I can vote for a Democrat in this election.” (A spokesman for Meta denied Trump’s story.)

However, Zuckerberg has confirmed he did call Trump after the attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“Seeing Donald Trump get up after getting shot in the face and pump his fist in the air with the American flag is one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen in my life,” Zuckerberg said.

Former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his successor Andy Jassy also reportedly called Trump after his thwarted assassination. 

“It is the most incredible thing I’ve ever watched,” Trump said Bezos told him. 

Since then, Bezos ordered the traditionally liberal Washington Post to spike its endorsement of Vice-President Harris, despite having it already prepared. 

Much of Bezos’s and Amazon’s business interests rely on government contracts, especially with Amazon Web Services.

Many of these Silicon Valley giants also have key business interests with the federal government, such as taxes, regulation of social media companies and trade with China.

‘Revenge can be justified’

As to why US CEOs are being so cautious about not committing either way, Trump has used the power of the federal government to try to punish perceived enemies in the business community who he thought were defying him. 

And he has frequently talked about retribution during the current campaign, telling one interviewer in June that “sometimes revenge can be justified”.

“They have an obligation to work with whomever is president, so they don’t want to come across as hostile and unable to work with him,” Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld told The Guardian. “But what is an undeniable historic fact is that there has never been in American history a less popular president with the nation’s business leadership than Donald Trump.”

Robert Wolf, a former chairman and CEO of UBS, told The Washington Post: “Public company CEOs want to have it both ways: They want to be viewed as the thought leaders of the country but when it comes to this highly contentious election, they want to hide behind their titles.

“Many are nervous that if Trump wins, he’s going to respond or even retaliate.”

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