In an increasingly fraught political environment, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is steering clear of any “binary” outlooks.
Macroeconomic and foreign policy out of the White House under Trump 2.0 has divided opinion: Critics have blasted his tariff plans as “bullying,” while advocates believe the Oval Office is merely righting unfair trade practices.
Even then, “I have a great idea,” Dimon said. “Since there’s a huge disagreement on this one … I think we should test it.”
The CEO of America’s biggest bank said he was confident JPMorgan would survive such an event, adding: “The people crying the most won’t be the credit card companies. It’ll be the restaurants, the retailers, the travel companies, the schools, the municipalities—because people [will] miss their water payments, this payment, that payment.”
“They should test it,” he added.
While those threats have since been rolled back, Trump shared some similarly controversial opinions about NATO. The president has previously threatened to leave the military alliance, and also claimed in his speech at Davos this week: “The United States is treated very unfairly by NATO. When you think about it, nobody can dispute it. We give so much, and we get so little in return.
“And I’ve been a critic of NATO for many years, and yet I’ve done more to help NATO than any other president, by far than any other person,” he added. “You wouldn’t have NATO if I didn’t get involved in my first term.”
Asked whether Trump’s approach had made the NATO alliance stronger or weaker, 69-year-old Dimon said the answer wasn’t as “binary” as that.
He explained highlighting NATO’s weaknesses and areas for improvement was understandable, but countered: “I think it’s okay to point out; I would be more polite about it, about the weaknesses of Europe, what they need to do. But if the goal is to make them stronger as opposed to fragment Europe, then I think that’s okay.”
“I’ve been coming to Davos all these years and listen to chatter and stuff like that,” he said. “And you didn’t do a particularly good job making the world a better place. I think it’s great we get together and talk.”
Striving for a balanced view has been a hallmark of Dimon’s since Trump won the Oval Office, and has established the CEO—who himself has been tipped for a career on Capitol Hill from the Oval Office to the Federal Reserve—as something of a critical friend to the White House.
