America’s corporate leaders have been conspicuously quiet while President Trump has consolidated power over the U.S. economy—taking stakes in major companies, dramatically increasing tariffs, jawboning TV networks over programming decisions, threatening Federal Reserve independence, charging $100,000 for H-1B visas and corrupting government data integrity. During Mr. Trump’s first term, corporations embraced social responsibility and often challenged government overreach when it threatened business interests and democratic norms.
“I always believed that if push came to shove, those titans of industry would be guardrails for our democracy, for the importance of sustaining democratic institutions,”
Kamala Harris writes in her memoir. “And one by one by one, they have been silent.” Why? Because Democrats have alienated the business community through years of ideological warfare disguised as governance. Businesses have decided the risk of pushing back is too high because Mr. Trump and his allies, as bad as they are, are better than the alternative.
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