Business leaders from Jamie Dimon to Mark Benioff have overwhelmingly come out and condemned Wednesday’s assault on the U.S. capitol. Their statements on what happened were practically uniform in nature. They called on American leader to ensure the peaceful transition of power to President Elect Joe Biden on January 20.
While they did not assess blame for the violence or criticize President Donald Trump with their words, they did rebuke the President indirectly with their calls to honor the 2020 election results. This is because Donald Trump is still calling the election fraudulent and insisting that he actually won.
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Stephen Schwarzman, the chairman, CEO and co-founder of Blackstone, stated, “The insurrection that followed the President’s remarks today is appalling and an affront to the democratic values we hold dear as Americans. I am shocked and horrified by this mob’s attempt to undermine our constitution. As I said in November, the outcome of the election is very clear and there must be a peaceful transition of power.”
Salesforce head Mark Benioff tweeted, “Our leaders must call for peace and unity now. There is no room for violence in our democracy. May the One who brings peace bring peace to our country.”
David M. Solomon, the chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, said, “For years, our democracy has built a reservoir of goodwill around the world that brings important benefits for our citizens. Recently, we have squandered that goodwill at an alarming pace, and today’s attack on the US Capitol does further damage. It’s time for all Americans to come together and move forward with a peaceful transition of power. We have to begin reinvesting in our democracy and rebuilding the institutions that have made America an exceptional nation.”
Jamie Dimon, the Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, released a statement saying, “I strongly condemn the violence in our nation’s capital. This is not who we are as a people or a country. We are better than this. Our elected leaders have a responsibility to call for an end to the violence, accept the results, and, as our democracy has for hundreds of years, support the peaceful transition of power. Now is the time to come together to strengthen our exceptional union.”
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— J.P. Morgan (@jpmorgan) January 6, 2021
Money manager Blackrock’s CEO Larry Fink described the attack as an “assault on our nation, our democracy, and the will of the American people. The peaceful transfer of power is the foundation of our democracy. We are who we are as a nation because of our democratic institutions and process.”
Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of leading US companies working to promote a thriving economy and expanded opportunity for all Americans through sound public policy, tweeted, “The chaos unfolding in the nation’s capital is the result of unlawful efforts to overturn the legitimate results of a democratic election. The country deserves better.”
It called on President Trump to put an end to the chaos and ensure the peaceful transition of power.
Michael Dell responded “Fully agree.” Pat Gelsinger, CEO of VM Ware, retweeted this post saying, “America is at its best when we are unified, working as one nation. There is nothing good about the violent and unlawful protests in DC. I’m praying today for a peaceful transition of leadership.”
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Business Roundtable Statement: pic.twitter.com/QipzYdyJjh
— Business Roundtable (@BizRoundtable) January 6, 2021
The National Association of Manufacturers has actually called on Vice-President Mike Pence to consider invoking the 25th Amendment. This would mean that if he and a majority of the cabinet vote to do so then Donald Trump would effectively be suspended from his powers as President.
The New York Times reported that in an email to employees the head of Google parent company Alphabet Sundar Pichai called the events “shocking and scary for all of us.”
“The lawlessness and violence occurring on Capitol Hill today is the antithesis of democracy and we strongly condemn it,” Mr. Pichai said.
Dan Schulman, the president and CEO of PayPal echoed those comments saying that what happened on Wednesday was “shocking and disturbing.”
The American Bankers Association stated, “This is a dark day for our democracy. The violence playing out on Capitol Hill and in the streets of Washington is reprehensible and should shock and sadden all of us. Our nation is better than this.”
