President Trump recently targeted Walmart, the largest private sector employer in the U.S. and the world’s biggest retailer.
Walmart CEO Douglas McMillon suggested that the Trump Administration’s tariffs could lead to higher prices. President Trump responded via social media.
“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain. Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected,” “Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, ‘EAT THE TARIFFS,’ and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!”
This criticism followed Trump’s recent praise of Apple CEO Tim Cook for manufacturing in India and is just the latest in a series of attacks on prominent American businesses. During his second term, Trump has publicly criticized companies like , , and . Organizations such as , , and have also faced his disapproval. However, business leaders have yet to present a unified and strong opposition to him.
Many CEOs of apolitical companies saw their stock values decrease due to Trump’s trade sanctions as they made strategic decisions to navigate them.
As threaten to destabilize the U.S. economy—amidst significant , large , plummeting and , and across industries—CEOs recognize the need to confront those in power. However, numerous Fortune 100 CEOs have stated that they are struggling to communicate with President Trump and convey the genuine risks facing their businesses, shareholders, employees, and communities.
Furthermore, even agree that tariffs are having a negative effect, they fear becoming the next target of a volatile and vengeful President if they speak out, as Walmart experienced.
Trump discourages collective action and uses a divide-and-conquer strategy to pit competitors against each other. When business groups remain passive while individual CEOs are attacked, they give up the moral and strategic advantage to Trump’s unpredictable actions, leaving business leaders vulnerable.
Some trade groups, including , the , and the —along with other specialized industry groups from the automotive sector to the pharmaceutical industry—have attempted to address these issues. However, many question why the Business Roundtable, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm with over 200 leading CEOs, seems to be inactive. They question why it hasn’t played a larger role in promoting collective action beyond issuing and engaging in routine lobbying.
This subdued response is consistent with other notable disappointments from the Business Roundtable during the Trump era, including his first term.
In August 2017, after Trump’s disturbing of neo-Nazis who attacked peaceful protestors in Charlottesville, Virginia, the American business community united.
Ken Frazier, the respected CEO of Merck, led the charge. In his resignation letter , “As C.E.O. of Merck and as a matter of personal conscience, I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism.”
Frazier, who grew up in North Philadelphia, became one of the few Black Fortune 500 CEOs. Trump predictably him, which backfired. In the days that followed, CEOs who had previously avoided politics rallied to Frazier’s , including the heads of Walmart, Intel, BlackRock, and IBM.
When left the President’s Business Advisory Group, he triggered a of departures. Frazier’s fellow CEOs resigned in solidarity, leading to the dissolution of both of President Trump’s business advisory councils: the Manufacturing Council and the Strategy and Policy Forum.
At the time, many CEOs were frustrated by the Business Roundtable’s relative passivity, especially during a period of perceived politicization of antitrust matters, with Trump appointees delaying for 18 months.
Similarly, in November 2020, when President Trump to acknowledge his electoral defeat, 22 CEOs, dissatisfied with the Business Roundtable’s inaction, requested that I convene an immediate Zoom call for largest CEOs. Leaders from various sectors, including pharmaceuticals, finance, advertising, airlines, consumer goods, and consulting, participated. During this “Chamber of Conscience” meeting, these business leaders affirmed the importance of certified elections and also certified the truth, meeting for four sessions throughout the presidential transition under the banner of Business Leaders for National Unity.
The Business Roundtable’s silence is a departure from its original purpose. I personally knew the politically diverse founding members of the Business Roundtable—including Reginald Jones of GE, Clifton Garvin of Exxon, Irving Shapiro of DuPont, George Weyerhaeuser of his timberland firm, Al Casey of American Airlines, Roger Smith of GM, Jim Burke of Johnson & Johnson, and Roy Vagelos of Merck—and they established it specifically as a means for CEOs to collectively address public policy issues.
As Trump attacks the nation’s most prominent companies, the Business Roundtable needs to return to its founding principles, purpose, and moral clarity so that CEOs are not left vulnerable and defenseless while Trump targets them individually. CEOs struggling to communicate with an unpredictable President while witnessing their businesses and the broader economy nearing a crisis point know that there is strength in collective action, lest they become Trump’s next target.
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