JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon wants everyone to help presidential candidate Nikki Haley secure the Republican nomination, telling a Wall Street conference she would be a stronger alternative to former President Donald Trump.
Speaking at the 2023 New York Times DealBook Summit on Nov. 29, Mr. Dimon urged business leaders to consider supporting the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, even if they are liberal Democrats.
“Even if you’re a very liberal Democrat, I urge you [to] help Nikki Haley, too. Get a choice on the Republican side that might be better than Trump,” he said.
Despite this clarion call in support of Ms. Haley, the head of America’s largest and most profitable bank noted that he would be pleased to advise former President Trump if he were victorious in the 2024 election or “whoever is president of the United States.”
This is not the first significant endorsement Ms. Haley received this week.
“AFP Action is proud to throw our full support behind Nikki Haley, who offers America the opportunity to turn the page on the current political era, to win the Republican primary and defeat Joe Biden next November,” AFP President and CEO Emily Seidel wrote in a memo announcing the group’s decision on Nov. 28.
“She has what it takes to lead a policy agenda to take on our nation’s biggest challenges and help ensure our country’s best days are ahead. With the grassroots and data capability we bring to bear in this race, no other organization is better equipped to help her do it.”
While Ms. Haley and the rest of the field trail the real estate billionaire mogul by a vast margin, the latest polling data show that she is neck and neck with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.).
A ‘Sugar High’ Economy
Despite solid economic growth and a robust labor market, Mr. Dimon says he is cautious about the current economy, describing it as being on a “sugar high” from the “drugs injected directly into our system called ‘fiscal stimulation.’”In the third quarter, the U.S. economy expanded by 5.2 percent, higher than the initial GDP growth estimate of 4.9 percent. Corporate profits also soared 4.1 percent, up from 0.5 percent in the April-to-June period.
Mr. Dimon argued that corporate profits increased because people have been spending a lot of money given to them by the government.
“But they are drugs running through the system, and they create this kind of sugar high, and we’re in a sugar high,” Mr. Dimon said. “So I’m quite cautious about the economy … I would just be a little careful about that just because it feels pretty good today.”
While the economy might appear strong, inflation is still “hurting people.”
He stated that the lower third of earners in the United States should be upset because they are the ones who are enduring the issues impacting society, from a poor education system to rising crime to rampant price pressures.
“You’re all wealthy and have money and stuff like that, but their average wages are $15 to $20 [an hour]. They’re the ones who lost their jobs in COVID,” he told host Andrew Ross Sorkin. “They’re dying five or six years younger than the rest of us. They’re the ones who don’t have medical insurance. They’re the ones where their schools don’t work. They’re the ones dealing with crime. What the hell have we done as a nation?”
Since January 2021, inflation has risen more than 17 percent cumulatively, with essential goods and services—such as food, shelter, and energy—driving much of the inflationary pain.
The annual consumer price index (CPI) is still running at above 3 percent, with core inflation— stripping energy and food components—at more than 4 percent.
Meanwhile, Mr. Dimon also encouraged liberals and New York City residents to stop looking down on so-called ultra-MAGA Americans.
“You’re insulting a large group of people,” he said. “I just think people should stop denigrating each other all the time because people take a point of view that is different than yours.”
