Why isn’t corporate America standing up to Trump?

Summary

The Indicator from Planet Money

Episode: Why isn’t corporate America standing up to Trump?

Date: January 28, 2026
Hosts: Waylon Wong & Maria Aspen

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Episode Overview

This episode explores why corporate America has adopted a largely cautious, even deferential stance toward President Trump during his turbulent second term. After a year where the president has aggressively imposed policies affecting trade, immigration, executive compensation, and even targeted specific CEOs with lawsuits, the hosts investigate why so few business leaders are willing to push back—or if they’re even capable of doing so. The discussion blends colorful recent anecdotes with analysis from surveys and experts, and asks what the costs of silence might be for business and democracy alike.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Second Term: Disrupting the Corporate-Government Balance

• President Trump’s policies have blurred the traditional lines between business and government, raising costs for companies (trade wars, immigration crackdown), directly targeting their profits (demanding government cuts and stakes, capping interest rates and executive pay), and creating a volatile atmosphere for corporate leaders.
• “He’s also being kind of a bully about everything. Last week he even sued JPMorgan Chase and its powerful chief executive, Jamie Dimon.” – Waylon Wong (00:40)

2. Corporate America's Unusually Quiet Response

• Most CEOs and business leaders are refraining from public dissent, even as Trump’s actions impact their bottom lines and upend the free market system.
• "Billionaires and big tech CEOs are publicly competing to kiss Trump’s ring, while almost everyone else seems afraid to stand up for their companies or the broader US System of free market capitalism." – Maria Aspen (00:50)

3. The Davos Snub & Jamie Dimon's Drama

• Trump hosted a private reception for CEOs at the World Economic Forum in Davos, pointedly excluding some major CEOs, arriving over 90 minutes late, and offering only high tables:
  • "This is like a Jane Austen novel where there's very intense drama about who snubs whom at a party." – Waylon Wong (03:52)
  • "Waylon, are you saying President Trump is Mr. Darcy?" – Maria Aspen (03:57)
  • "He reminds me more of Lady Catherine de Bourgh." – Waylon Wong (04:00)

4. Jamie Dimon: The Rare Voice (and Target)

• Despite being relatively outspoken, Dimon's criticisms of tariffs and the proposed cap on credit card interest rates put him in Trump’s crosshairs.
  • [On tariffs] "Yeah, I'm taking a calm view, but I think it could get worse if we don't make some progress here." – Jamie Dimon (04:27)
  • [On interest rate caps] "It would be a economic disaster. I think it’s wrong for the government to get involved extensively in pricing of stuff, but you know, I gotta deal with the world." – Jamie Dimon (05:00)
• Trump responded by suing JPMorgan Chase and Dimon personally for $5 billion, ostensibly for accounts closed post-January 6, but widely perceived as retribution.
  • “He only filed the lawsuit after Jamie Dimon called one of his newer proposals an economic disaster and he sued Dimon personally.” – Waylon Wong (05:34)

5. Why Business Leaders Aren’t Speaking Up

• Fear of Retaliation: The visible blowback against Dimon is read as a cautionary tale by peers.
• Path of Least Resistance: Most CEOs opt for silence unless the issue directly and safely concerns their core interests.
  • "You don't want to say anything unless it's like, clearly, exactly in your core interest, in your core business, and at no risk." – Daniela Belew Ayres (06:22)
• Survey Data: 84% of business leaders are worried about the political and legal climate’s effect on their business, but few want to comment publicly.
  • “We're hearing this a lot from CEO surveys—in private, executives are pretty worried. In public, they don't want to talk about it.” – Maria Aspen / Co-host (06:51)

6. Short-Term Profits vs. Long-Term Risks

• Despite the turmoil, profit and the stock market are up, and many of Trump's tax and spending policies appear to benefit business—if he’s not targeting your sector.
• Some CEOs are cozying up to Trump, offering gifts and participating in White House events to curry favor.
  • “Take the big tech companies that are giving him fancy golden gifts and donating to his ballroom. Or showing up to a private White House screening of first lady Melania Trump’s new documentary…” – Waylon Wong (07:28)

7. Crony Capitalism Warning

• Some, including political commentator and Leadership Now Project head Daniela Belew Ayres, warn that such patronage can spiral into outright crony capitalism, where business success depends on personal favor with political leaders:
  • “Some American business leaders have been, from our perspective, naive about where that type of engagement with government can ultimately go.” – Daniela Belew Ayres (07:59)

8. White House Response

• An anonymous White House official dismissed concerns of crony capitalism, calling Trump’s policies typical “free market policymaking” for a Republican administration (08:32).

9. Reluctance Around Public Political Engagement

• Even before Trump’s reelection, companies had been seeking to avoid speaking out on political matters. Recent events (e.g., a federal officer’s shooting of Alex Preddy in Minneapolis) have forced corporate hands, with big companies issuing “very carefully worded” statements.
  • “Now, Minnesota CEOs have put out a very carefully worded letter calling for, quote, an immediate de-escalation of tensions.” – Waylon Wong (08:53)

10. The Long-Term Costs of Silence

• The hosts conclude by looking at the broader risks: right now, companies worry about the immediate consequences of confrontation, but avoiding public stances could harm their interests—and the economic system—over the long haul.
  • "Right now they're mostly focused on the costs of speaking up, but there are also long-term costs to staying silent." – Maria Aspen (09:16)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Trump's style:

  • "He reminds me more of Lady Catherine de Bourgh." – Waylon Wong (04:00)

• On CEO reluctance to speak up:

  • "You don't want to say anything unless it's like, clearly, exactly in your core interest, in your core business, and at no risk." – Daniela Belew Ayres (06:22)

• On crony capitalism:

  • “Some American business leaders have been, from our perspective, naive about where that type of engagement with government can ultimately go.” – Daniela Belew Ayres (07:59)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Trump's disruptive business policies – 00:12-00:50
• CEO timidity and ‘kissing the ring’ – 00:50-01:12
• Davos drama & Jamie Dimon's interactions with Trump – 03:04-05:17
• Why CEOs stay silent (expert & survey) – 06:22-06:57
• Crony capitalism & White House viewpoint – 07:42-08:32
• Aftermath of Minneapolis incident & CEO public statements – 08:48-09:13
• Closing reflection on costs of silence – 09:13-09:29

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Conclusion

This episode provides a sharp look at how corporate leaders are navigating a fraught and unpredictable political environment under Trump’s second term. Despite concerns about authoritarian tendencies and the erosion of market norms, pronounced public dissent remains rare—due both to fear of targeted retaliation and a calculation that silence, at least for now, serves business interests best. Yet, as the hosts and their guests warn, the costs of this calculated passivity may only become clear with time.

Transcript

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

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[Waylon Wong]

President Trump has spent his first year back in office blurring the lines between business and government and creating a lot of headaches for business leaders.

[Maria Aspen]

His trade war and his immigration policies are adding costs. He's demanding a government cut of some of Nvidia's sales in China and an outright government stake in India. He wants to cap how much interest credit card companies charge their customers and how much defense companies pay their CEOs.

[Waylon Wong]

We just did an episode on that. He's also being kind of a bully about everything. Last week he even sued JPMorgan Chase and its powerful chief executive, Jamie Dimon.

[Maria Aspen]

But as the president goes storming through corporate America, business leaders aren't exactly mounting a strong defense. Billionaires and big tech CEOs are publicly competing to kiss Trump's ring, while almost everyone else seems afraid to stand up for their companies or the broader US System of free market capitalism.

[Waylon Wong]

This is the indicator from Planet Money. I'm your non billionaire host Waylon Wong and my co host today is NPR financial correspondent Maria Aspen, also not a billionaire. Maria, you have spent the last year covering how corporate America has responded to to President Trump's extremely, let's say, disruptive second term.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Yes, I have today on the show as Trump rewrites the rules of doing business.

[Maria Aspen]

Why aren't business leaders doing more to speak up?

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[Waylon Wong]

This has been a pretty eventful month for corporate America, even by the standards of Trump's second term. It started with the US attack on Venezuela and Trump pressuring US oil companies to invest there, and then sniping at ExxonMobil after its CEO called the country uninvestable.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Then, last week, Trump went to the.

[Maria Aspen]

World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He threw a private reception there for.

[Co-host/Reporter]

CEOs, but he pointedly left some big names off the invite list.

[Waylon Wong]

Trump was also more than 90 minutes late to his own party, according to the Wall Street Journal.

[Co-host/Reporter]

And there were no chairs.

[Waylon Wong]

I read that. High tables only.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Now, the Journal reported that Jamie Dimon was invited to this White House reception, but he had to leave before Trump got there because diamond had to go host a party for his own company.

[Waylon Wong]

This is like a Jane Austen novel where there's very intense drama about who snubs whom at a party.

[Maria Aspen]

Waylon, are you saying President Trump is Mr. Darcy?

[Waylon Wong]

He reminds me more of Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

[Co-host/Reporter]

That is such a good. Such a good example or analogy.

[Waylon Wong]

But dance cards aside, this was all happening at a time when the public relationship between Trump and Dimon seems to be getting more tense.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Now, Dimon runs the country's biggest bank.

[Maria Aspen]

And he's been more outspoken than most.

[Co-host/Reporter]

CEOs during the past year by the.

[Waylon Wong]

Very mild standards of corporate America. Take this reaction to Trump's tariffs last year.

[Jamie Dimon]

Yeah, I'm taking a calm view, but I think it could get worse if we don't make some progress here. And, of course, you know, for a.

[Maria Aspen]

While last year, it seemed like Dimon.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Could speak that truth to Trump's power and be heard. But more recently, something seems to have soured between the two men.

[Waylon Wong]

Dimon has continued saying that the Federal Reserve should stay independent at a time when Trump is trying to take control of the central bank.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Trump has also proposed putting that cap on credit card interest rates, which would hurt JPMorgan Chase's business at Davos. Last week, Dimon said this.

[Jamie Dimon]

It would be a economic disaster. I think it's wrong for the government to get involved extensively in pricing of stuff, but, you know, I gotta deal with the world.

[Waylon Wong]

I got a day Later, Trump hit JPMorgan Chase and Jamie Dimon personally with a lawsuit seeking $5 billion in damages.

[Co-host/Reporter]

The lawsuit was ostensibly about some of his long simmering grievances against JPMorgan Chase and several other banks. Trump claims that these banks closed his accounts after the January 6 riots by his supporters in 2021 because the banks didn't like his politics.

[Waylon Wong]

But Trump has been complaining about this for years. He only filed the lawsuit after Jamie Dimon called one of his newer proposals an economic disaster and he sued dimon personally.

[Maria Aspen]

A JPMorgan Chase spokesperson said in a statement the lawsuit is without merit and.

[Co-host/Reporter]

That the bank doesn't close accounts for.

[Maria Aspen]

Political or religious reasons. The bank declined to comment on Dimon's relationship with Trump.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Meanwhile, the White House declined to comment on Trump's relationship with Dimon.

[Waylon Wong]

Oh, all of a sudden no one has anything to say. Now JPMorgan Chase is the biggest bank in the country and Dimon's been running it for two decades. They should be just fine.

[Maria Aspen]

But if this is an example of.

[Co-host/Reporter]

The cost of speaking out against Trump, a lot of other companies and CEOs.

[Maria Aspen]

Are choosing the path of least resistance.

[Daniela Belew Ayres]

You don't want to say anything unless it's like, clearly, exactly in your core interest, in your core business, and at no risk.

[Maria Aspen]

That's Daniela Belew Ayres. She's an entrepreneur and consultant who worked.

[Co-host/Reporter]

In the Obama administration.

[Maria Aspen]

Now she runs the Leadership Now Project.

[Co-host/Reporter]

A coalition of business leaders.

[Waylon Wong]

In October, her group and the Harris Poll surveyed business leaders across the political spectrum. They found that 84% are worried about how the current political and legal climate will affect their businesses.

[Maria Aspen]

We're hearing this a lot from CEO surveys in private, executives are pretty worried.

[Co-host/Reporter]

In public, they don't want to talk about it.

[Daniela Belew Ayres]

What we have right now is a lot of personalized decision making, chaotic decision making, instability that we're seeing the cost of.

[Waylon Wong]

That said, from a business perspective, the past year has had some payoffs for corporate America. Profits are up, the stock market is up, and Trump's tax and spending law will largely benefit businesses.

[Maria Aspen]

So in the short term, business leaders do have some reason to be happy.

[Co-host/Reporter]

As long as Trump isn't paying too much attention to their industry.

[Waylon Wong]

In the sectors where Trump is paying a lot of attention, some CEOs are going out of their way to court him. Take the big tech companies that are giving him fancy golden gifts and donating to his ballroom. Or showing up to a private White House screening of first lady Melania.

[Maria Aspen]

Trump's new documentary as Indicator Listeners Know.

[Co-host/Reporter]

This has some political commentators, including Daniella.

[Maria Aspen]

Ringing the alarm bell over crony capitalism.

[Co-host/Reporter]

That's a corrupt system in which businesses rise and fall based on how much a political leader likes them.

[Daniela Belew Ayres]

Some American business leaders have been, from our perspective, naive about where that type of engagement with government can ultimately go.

[Waylon Wong]

In the most extreme cases of crony capitalism, it doesn't go anywhere good for the broader economy or for individual business leaders who ultimately fall out of favor.

[Co-host/Reporter]

I talked about some of this with the White House official who agreed to speak with me on condition of anonymity and who largely dismissed claims of crony capitalism. The official calls Trump's policies, by and.

[Maria Aspen]

Large, the traditional free market policymaking that.

[Co-host/Reporter]

You would expect coming out of a Republican administration.

[Waylon Wong]

Some of what's going on with business leaders is about more than Trump. Even before he was reelected, companies wanted to be talking less about politics in public.

[Maria Aspen]

That is probably a pretty futile hope.

[Co-host/Reporter]

As we are seeing in Minnesota right now.

[Waylon Wong]

Big companies have mostly tried to avoid weighing in on the federal government's violent immigration crackdown. But then federal officers shot and killed Alex Preddy in Minneapolis this weekend. Now, Minnesota CEOs have put out a very carefully worded letter calling for, quote, an immediate de escalation of tensions.

[Maria Aspen]

This won't be the last time that.

[Co-host/Reporter]

Business leaders will be expected to wield.

[Maria Aspen]

Their power during Trump's presidency. Right now they're mostly focused on the costs of speaking up, but there are also long term costs to staying silent.

[Waylon Wong]

This episode was produced by Angel Carreras with engineering by Robert Rodriguez. It was fact checked by Sierra Juarez and edited by Julia Ritchie. Katkin Cannon is our show's editor and the indicator is a production of npr.

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