CEOs werent too pleased with Donald Trump s performance at a private meeting in Washington this week, CNBC s Andrew Ross Sorkin said Friday.
The presumptive GOP presidential nominee addressed top business leaders and spoke about the corporate tax rate at Thursdays gathering, which featured Walmarts Doug McMillon, Apples Tim Cook and JPMorgan Chases Jamie Dimon.
A number of CEOs walked into the meeting being Trump supporter-ish but left it thinking that he was remarkably meandering, Sorkin said on CNBCs Squawk Box.
[He] could not keep a straight thought, was all over the map, Sorkin recalled hearing from attendees. These were people who I think mightve been actually predisposed to him and actually walked out of the room less predisposed to him.
One CEO reportedly said that the former president didnt outline how he hopes to achieve his policy proposals, while at least two people in the meeting described Trumps energy as being subdued, according to CNBC.
Brutal report from @andrewrsorkin on Trump's visit with CEOs yesterday:
\"CEOs who said that he was remarkably meandering, could not keep a straight thought, was all over the map.\"
CEOs who walked in as soft Trump supporters walked out startled by him pic.twitter.com/m68PeT52ez
Brutal report from @andrewrsorkin on Trump's visit with CEOs yesterday:
James Singer (@Jemsinger) June 14, 2024
"CEOs who said that he was remarkably meandering, could not keep a straight thought, was all over the map."
CEOs who walked in as soft Trump supporters walked out startled by him pic.twitter.com/m68PeT52ez
In a separate appearance on MSNBC s Morning Joe, Sorkin said that CEOs felt a bit disheartened after the gathering.
[They were] a bit questioning I dont want to say his mental fitness, but questioning just how meandering, how ... he could not keep a thought straight, he would go in one direction and then hed go in another direction, and that there wasnt really necessarily a through line to the way he spoke or what even he was talking about, Sorkin said.
Trump reportedly discussed his desire to reduce the corporate tax rate from its current 21% to 20%, saying that he preferred the latter since its a round number.
I think that that unto itself had a number of CEOs shaking their head, given that 1% of the total tax burden on the country is actually a huge number in terms of what is needed to support the revenue for this country, Sorkin said.
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Meanwhile, Steven Cheung, the communications director for Trumps 2024 campaign, has told the media that the former president was warmly received by everyone in the room and commended for his policy proposals on deregulation and tax cuts.
\"One said to me, 'He could not keep a thought straight. He would go in one direction and then go into another direction.'\"
WATCH: @andrewrsorkin says some business leaders expressed concern after meeting with Donald Trump yesterday. pic.twitter.com/GKtpo8qOhp
"One said to me, 'He could not keep a thought straight. He would go in one direction and then go into another direction.'"
MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 14, 2024
WATCH: @andrewrsorkin says some business leaders expressed concern after meeting with Donald Trump yesterday. pic.twitter.com/GKtpo8qOhp
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