Why the billionaire chief of America’s biggest bank is so scared of Trump

When Jamie Dimon surprised the political and financial elite early this year by praising some of Donald Trump’s policies, the longtime Democrat set off speculation that he had switched his allegiance to the Republican candidate.

He has done little since to tamp that down. The usually outspoken CEO of JPMorgan, the nation’s largest bank, has been uncharacteristically vague about his political leanings of late. In an interview last week, he even left open the door to endorsing Trump — whose behaviour after the last election Dimon once described as “treason.”

Jamie Dimon remains cautious about endorsing either candidate.Credit: Bloomberg

In private, however, Dimon has made clear that he supports Vice President Kamala Harris and would consider a role, perhaps Treasury secretary, in her administration. He has also told his associates that the former president’s 2020 election denialism remains close to a disqualifying factor. Those views were shared by three people who asked not to be identified discussing his politics because Dimon was speaking privately.

Dimon isn’t making his stance known publicly because he’s fearful that if Trump is victorious, he could retaliate against the people and companies who publicly opposed his run, his associates said. That’s a concern shared by other powerful corporate executives, and not without reason: Trump has begun to increase threats of political retribution in recent weeks.

Both the Trump and Harris campaigns have sought Dimon’s public support, and Trump once — falsely — declared that he had it. But for a man who has been eager to weigh in on virtually any topic — Ukraine, inequality, immigration — Dimon’s silence reflects a discomfort with the idea of staking out a public position on a contentious issue, people close to him say.

His quiet has been noticed in Washington and on Wall Street, where his every utterance is tracked. Fans, rivals and the odd detractor note with some alarm that Dimon, 68 years old and a billionaire, hasn’t made his specific stance on the election known.

“With Jamie, it’s interesting because he styles himself as a major leader transcending his own business needs,” said Robert Reich, former secretary of labor in the Clinton administration. “If he were really concerned about the nation and all of the values that he says he’s concerned about, not only would he not be supporting Trump — he’d be vocally and angrily and with all of his might making sure that Trump did not get another crack at the White House.”

Dimon declined to be interviewed for this article. Joseph Evangelisti, a JPMorgan spokesperson, said in an emailed statement that Dimon “has never publicly endorsed a presidential candidate, but he speaks out forcefully and often on policies to help strengthen our country and lift up communities.”

The statement didn’t address whom Dimon had decided to vote for.

Evangelisti added: “His comments are often weaponized by the left or right when he weighs in on politics or politicians, which is not constructive to helping solve our country’s biggest problems.”

Neither the Trump nor Harris campaigns responded to requests for comment.

‘Dogs in a fight’

Dimon’s nearly two decades at the helm of JPMorgan have put him in a role with enormous political power.

As JPMorgan’s head, Dimon regularly meets with world leaders and exerts a pull over regulations and policymaking. He led the rescue of two huge banks during the 2008 financial crisis and made an encore performance last year, banding together with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to stave off trouble after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

Jamie Dimon’s nearly two decades at the helm of JPMorgan have put him in a role with enormous political power.Credit: AP

A registered Democrat, Dimon has also staked out centrist ground, partly as he sought to defend his bank and the industry.

In 2012, he feuded with Harris, then attorney general of California, amid negotiations with a group of states over big bank foreclosure abuses. Harris would later recount in her autobiography that the pair were like “dogs in a fight.” He called her once and screamed that she was “trying to steal from my shareholders,” she wrote.

He has also flirted with the idea of running for office himself, discussing it with JPMorgan subordinates and family members, according to two people who relayed the details of such chats.

Donors to Trump’s campaign have pressed its case that Dimon should support the former president or at least stay publicly neutral, according to a person with knowledge of the efforts.

“I’ve always been an American patriot. And my country is more important to me than my company.”

JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon

They had reason to believe the JPMorgan CEO might have been persuadable to their side because of Dimon’s own words. In January, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Dimon turned heads across Wall Street when he proclaimed that Trump had been “kind of right” about economic issues such as tax cuts.

The blowback was fierce. Left-leaning opinion columnists, political pundits and fellow financiers alike accused him of giving cover to Trump. Dimon felt trapped and hurt, he told associates, to be tied with the Trump agenda. He tried to walk back the statement by saying it reflected his respect for Trump’s voters, but the impression stuck.

‘One anodyne thing’

JPMorgan’s spokesperson said that Dimon was disappointed when the Davos comments were deployed by political campaigns without “the appropriate context.”

“He said one anodyne thing in Davos and then all of a sudden he was seen as a part of the Jan. 6 crowd,” said Robert Steel, vice chair of the investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners who was a Treasury Department undersecretary for President George W. Bush.

“I think it would be dumb right now to be out with a point of view,” Steel noted, with a sigh: “It’s not like it used to be. There is vitriol in the system and in politics — none of the old things matter.”

And so Dimon stayed silent throughout the spring, summer and fall, until Trump, in a post to his Truth Social platform this month, falsely claimed that Dimon had endorsed him. Dimon — who hasn’t spoken directly to Trump in three years — publicly denied the assertion.

The notion seems to have originated on the social platform X, with posts on two right-leaning accounts shortly before Trump’s own post.

The Harris campaign, too, has pressed its pitch. The Democratic nominee has had to work hard to win support from the often politically moderate finance set, and public support from Dimon would surely help in that effort.

She has called Dimon this summer to hear his views on issues like economic inequality (he’s against it) and free trade (he’s for). In his private conversations with Wall Street executives supportive of Harris, he has said that he has a duty to JPMorgan shareholders to protect the public company from potential political retaliation, two people said.

On separate calls with Wall Street reporters and analysts this month, Dimon first said he wouldn’t discuss politics, and later held forth on whether he would consider government service.

“I’ve always been an American patriot,” he said, employing that phrase for the umpteenth time. “And my country is more important to me than my company.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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