Last week, Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, had a private lunch with Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House, people familiar with the matter revealed.
According to the Financial Times, “The private meeting, which was not disclosed in Harris’s public schedule, came a little more than two months after Dimon praised Donald Trump for his handling of the US economy and foreign policy while president.”
The lunch date “comes at a testy time in relations between the Biden administration and US business — and suggests an attempt by both sides to improve the relationship as the 2024 general election campaign approaches,” the outlet states. “It could not be learned what was discussed at the meetings. The White House and JPMorgan, the largest US bank by assets, declined to comment.”
On the one hand, President Joe Biden has long been demanding that billionaires pay more in taxes, on the other, the Financial Times notes, he “has scaled up his fundraising efforts among Democrats on Wall Street to pay for his re-election campaign against Trump, in which he has a substantial financial advantage.”
In addition to wanting to raise taxes on the wealthy and large corporations, the president has “taken a tougher approach to antitrust enforcement, sided with labour unions in contract negotiations and criticised companies for raising prices and fees,” according to the Times. “Businesses have felt their concerns — spanning taxes, trade and regulation — have gone unheeded in Washington.”
While in D.C., Dimon also met separately with White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, federal regulators, and members of Congress — all at a time when the banking industry is lobbying against a proposal from U.S. regulators to tighten bank capital rules.
In a January interview with CNBC, Dimon suggested that Democrats should be careful what they say about Trump supporters.
“I wish the Democrats would think a little more carefully when they talk about MAGA,” Dimon said.
At the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the CEO warned attendees, “I think this negative talk about MAGA is going to hurt Biden’s election campaign.”
Self-described as “barely a Democrat,” Dimon said that his party members “are basically scapegoating” Trump supporters by equating their support with Trump’s character.
“I don’t think they’re voting for Trump because of his family values,” he stated.
Besides, he said, Trump was “kind of right” about a lot of things.
“Take a step back, be honest,” he told the Davos crowd. “He was kind of right about NATO, kind of right on immigration. He grew the economy quite well. Trade tax reform worked. He was right about some of China.”
“He wasn’t wrong about some of these critical issues,” Dimont said, “and that’s why they voted for him.”
Though he backed Nikki Haley during the Republican primaries, Dimont “served on Trump’s shortlived business advisory group in 2017 and has said he ‘would try to help any president of the United States because I’m a patriot,'” according to the Financial Times.
He proved that, recently.
“Dimon worked intensely with the Biden administration last year during the regional banking crisis” the outlet reports, “including holding talks with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on measures to rescue struggling institutions and protect depositors.”
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Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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