How business leaders are responding to the pro-Trump insurgency – Quartz



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U.S. business leaders are not known for issuing immediate and moving statements about tumultuous political events, but the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6 by violent pro-Trump supporters prompted some CEOs to back down. express quickly.

Hours after the MAGA mob entered the government building, the powerful Business Roundtable, an organization of CEOs that began championing the social purpose of corporations in 2019, released a statement on Twitter which was amplified by several of its members or their companies, along with several other important business voices.

Brad Smith, President of Microsoft, added his thoughts to the Business Roundtable statement, tweeting, “Well said. It is a day to defend our Constitution and its values. (Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella retweeted Smith without comment.)

Pat Gelsinger, CEO of VM Ware, also quoted the group of companies on Twitter, adding, “America is at its best when we are united, working as one nation. There is nothing good about violent and illegal demonstrations in Washington. I pray today for a peaceful leadership transition.

Andrew Liveris, former Chairman and CEO of Dow Chemicals, spoke with a more personal message: “Watching this on Australian TV brings back memories of my experiences in emerging economies with coups, brawls in parliament and street violence. The United States is our beacon for freedom and democratic principles. It is tragic to see what is happening now. “

And Michael Dell, Founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, said: “Fully agree. “

Jamie Dimon, president and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, who chaired the Business Roundtable in 2019 (not chaired by Doug McMillon of Walmart) rescinded his own statement on how, as a country, ” we are better than that. ”

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian called the violent crowd on Capitol Hill “domestic terrorists.”

Marc Benioff, Founder and CEO of Salesforce, launched a sort of prayer to “He who brings peace”.

For the National Manufacturers Association, US Vice President Mike Pence is the one who should be taking the lead. Their demand of him: Consider removing Trump from office now.

Chris Sacca, the venture capitalist and entrepreneur known for his appearance on the reality show Shark aquarium, sent a message to two fellow Silicon Valley executives, Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, whom he called out for allowing the spread of disinformation and hatred on their massive platforms:

As of this writing, there was no word from Zuckerberg or Dorsey. However, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have all removed a video of Trump addressing the day’s events, with Facebook saying the one-minute clip “helps rather than reduce the risk of continued violence.”

Twitter also suspended Trump’s account for 12 hours, deleted three of his tweets, and warned him that he could be permanently blocked from the site if he continued to violate the site’s policies by inciting violence and sharing conspiracy theories.



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