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Business leaders are speaking out on Election Day, including Starbucks founder Howard Schultz.
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Schultz and Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan called for unity. Neither has endorsed a candidate.
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Elon Musk and Reid Hoffman also reiterate their support for Trump and Harris, respectively.
Election Day is finally here and executives from some of the biggest companies are speaking out – with former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz pushing for a peaceful transition of power and Elon Musk reiterating his support for Donald Trump to the end.
Major players such as Musk and Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman have previously supported former President Trump. On the other hand, business heavyweights like billionaire Shark Tank star Mark Cuban and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman have campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris.
While some business leaders have voiced their political opinions ahead of Election Day, others are holding back: As Business Insider’s Bryan Metzger recently wrote, some of that hesitation could be driven by fears of retaliation from Trump if he is re-elected — or could simply be based may be based on the belief that wading into politics is bad for business.
Here’s what some of the biggest business leaders in the US are saying Tuesday, ahead of the election results:
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz
Howard Schultz, who served several terms as CEO of Starbucks over four decades, used LinkedIn on Tuesday to emphasize the seriousness of this election and urge a peaceful transition of power.
“Make no mistake, this election is the most consequential decision our citizens will make,” Schultz wrote in his post.
“Once every vote is counted and certified, we must accept the outcome of the election and ensure a peaceful transition of power,” he said. “In an age of rapid information dissemination that infects so many of us with false narratives and lies, we must remind each other of our founding ethos as a country.”
While the former CEO has not announced his support for a presidential candidate this election cycle, he previously endorsed Joe Biden in 2020 and Hillary Clinton in 2016.
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman
Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and now a partner at VC firm Greylock Partners, posted a video message to X on Tuesday to reiterate his support for Harris.
“My message to American voters and Russian bots: don’t vote for the guy who’s too busy to sell you a scamcoin,” Hoffman wrote on X above his video message. Trump launched his own cryptocurrency, $WLFI, in October following his foray into the decentralized finance market with crypto exchange platform World Liberty Financial.
“Vote for Vice President Harris, who knows how to put business – and the American people – first,” Hoffman’s post said.
“She understands the importance of founders,” Hoffman said of Harris in his video, adding, “She wants founders to succeed. And only for the country, not for her.”
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX
One of Trump’s most outspoken supporters and biggest donors, billionaire SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, continued his steady stream of posts on X on Tuesday.
In addition to reposting several pro-Trump posts from other X users, Musk also wrote a number of election-related posts.
In response to a video of MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough criticizing Trump supporters and listing some of Trump’s more extreme statements, Musk wrote: “The traditional media is hoping one hoax a day will keep DJT away. It won’t work.”
The billionaire wrote another post speculating that Trump will win Pennsylvania in a landslide if the same number of the state’s Republicans vote for Trump in person this year as in 2020.
Billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla
Vinod Khosla, an OpenAI investor and founder of Sun Microsystems, has pledged his support for Harris. His name is one of hundreds on the list of VCs for Kamala.
On Monday, Khosla made his views on Trump clear on could support banning some vaccines.
Khosla, who previously had a falling out with Musk, responded on Monday to a message from the X owner suggesting that all independent and swing voters side with Trump.
“Completely wrong,” Khosla wrote in response to Musk. “I am an independent who is not voting for Trump.”
Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick
Howard Lutnick, the CEO of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald and co-chair of Trump’s transition team, reaffirmed his support for the former president in identical Election Day posts on X and Truth Social.
“Today is the day. I’m proud to vote for President @realDonaldTrump,” Lutnick wrote. “He will protect America’s workforce, unleash our nation’s ingenuity and strengthen our economy. Go to the polls with me and we will make America great again.”
Lutnick suggested that The Philadelphia Inquirer and to the Financial times that loyalty to Trump will be one of the most important factors in determining possible appointments for a second Trump administration.
And the Wall Street financier’s name has been floated as a potential member of Trump’s Cabinet to the Treasury Secretary or the U.S. Ambassador to Jerusalem, among others, according to Bloomberg.
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, has not publicly endorsed a candidate this year, but he issued a statement calling on all Americans to rally behind the next candidate.
“Our country now concludes one of the most closely fought and at times divisive elections in our recent history,” Dimon said.
“Soon it will be time for all of us to unite behind our president-elect and all our national leaders. We must begin to bring our nation together and focus on the pressing economic and global issues before us.”
Dimon’s wife, Judith Kent, was campaigning for Kamala Harris this weekend.
Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey
Palmer Luckey – who founded the defense technology company Anduril as well as the VR company Oculus, which he later sold to Meta for $2 billion – urged people to vote on Tuesday.
“Pokemon Go to the Polls!” Luckey wrote on X.
Luckey was one of a handful of tech executives to support Trump during his first presidential campaign, and has criticized other Big Tech leaders for jumping on the Trump bandwagon only later in the game.
The sometimes controversial billionaire, who has said his “strong support for Donald Trump is no secret,” has also criticized the Harris-Walz campaign’s Fortnite Map on X in recent days.
Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth
Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s chief technology officer, posted on Threads on Tuesday about his excitement that the political texting wave is coming to an end.
“Thankfully no more political texting day, for those who celebrate it!” Writing on Threads, Bosworth added a follow-up message: “(I voted by mail weeks ago. Go vote, if you haven’t already).”
Production and business leaders weigh in
The National Association of Manufacturers and more than 600 business leaders from across the manufacturing sector released a letter Tuesday addressed to the “president-elect,” whoever that may be.
In it, the leaders pledge to work with the new president, while emphasizing the importance of national unity and a peaceful transfer of power.
“The days following hard-fought elections have always been a time for healing, finding common ground and renewing our focus on what unites us as a people,” the letter said. “The peaceful transition of power is a hallmark of our democracy and essential to ensuring confidence in the rule of law – a commitment that has made America exceptional.”
Signatories to the letter include executives from major companies, including General Motors, Eli Lilly, Lockheed Martin, General Mills, Johnson & Johnson, Penske and Panasonic.
Read the original article on Business Insider
