Why some CEOs are afraid of publicly criticizing Trump

• Business titans for illustration Jamie Dimon and Bill Gates reportedly backmost Kamala Harris — but not publicly.
• It whitethorn beryllium driven by fears of retribution from Trump and what a 2nd word would bring.
• But it could besides beryllium that wading into authorities is bad for business.

Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump person won support from America's business titans and CEOs. But not each of that support is being declared successful public.

On Tuesday, nan New York Times reported that some JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Microsoft laminitis Bill Gates support Harris, but won't opportunity truthful publicly.

Gates reportedly donated $50 cardinal to a pro-Harris "dark money" nonprofit group that, dissimilar governmental action committees, is not required to disclose its donors. A spokesperson for Gates did not respond to Business Insider's petition for comment, but successful a connection to The Times that didn't admit nan donation, he said that "this predetermination is different" for him.

Dimon has reportedly told associates that he supports Harris, but won't spell nationalist retired of fearfulness of retaliation.

All of which raises nan question: What's location to beryllium acrophobic of?

There's surely logic to judge that Trump, if elected, would prosecute immoderate grade of retribution against those who he believes person wronged him. As he's mounted his 3rd run for nan presidency, he has astatine times emphasized "revenge" arsenic a run theme, and he hasn't shied distant from targeting individual companies. In 1 caller instance, he threatened to impose a 200% tariff connected John Deere if they spell guardant pinch moving immoderate of their manufacturing accommodation to Mexico.

As president, he often criticized — often via tweet — individual companies who he disagreed with, which occasionally affected banal prices.

But Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor astatine nan Yale School of Management and nan laminitis and president of nan Chief Executive Leadership Institute, says that nan thought of retribution is "overstated" — and that avoiding wading into authorities has agelong been nan norm for main executives, astir of whom person traditionally been Republican.

"They're much concerned astir alienating customers and labor needlessly," Sonnenfeld, dubbed nan "CEO whisperer" for his relationships pinch America's CEOs, told Business Insider. "Everybody's acrophobic of alienating ample blocs of their ain constituency. That's what they're acrophobic of. They're not acrophobic of… Trump."

Politics, arsenic it turns out, whitethorn conscionable beryllium bad for business these days.

"They don't spot themselves arsenic nationalist officials. They don't deliberation that that's their calling, that that's their strength," Sonnenfeld said. "So they don't want to get progressive publically successful societal issues, if they don't person to."

Joe Evangelisti, a spokesperson for JPMorgan, told Business Insider that Dimon and his institution are not fearful of retribution from either Harris aliases Trump, but that Dimon wants to debar having his comments "weaponized by nan near aliases nan right." He added that Dimon is happy to activity pinch either campaigner if elected and prefers to talk astir policies alternatively than partisan politics.

It's not difficult to spot why Dimon would consciousness this way, fixed caller events. After he said successful January that Trump was "kind of right" astir NATO and immigration, he faced a firestorm of controversy. Dimon was later nan taxable of speculation complete whether he would service successful Trump's administration, and earlier this month, he denied Trump's claim that he had endorsed him.

But Dimon besides has to guarantee he has a good-enough narration pinch Trump.

"I would ne'er opportunity that," Dimon said erstwhile asked if his position was "anything but Trump" past year. "You know, because he mightiness beryllium nan president. I person to woody pinch that too."

On nan flipside, it's besides imaginable that location are pro-Trump CEOs who don't want to alienate wide customers and employees. In an quality connected CNBC's "Squawk Box" connected Wednesday, billionaire hedge money head Bill Ackman suggested that there's a good of silent Trump support among CEOs.

"One of nan fewer benefits of supporting Trump publically is many, galore group travel up to me, CEOs, and say, 'Bill, convey you for saying what you're saying, I wish I were likewise situated wherever I could, but I person — you know, each my labor would quit,'" Ackman said.

Still, Harris has received a notable grade of support from nan business community, nan astir vocal illustration being investor Mark Cuban.

According to Sonnenfeld, nan Trump-related firm activism of caller years — including astir nan January 6 insurrection — has been a humanities anomaly driven by a consciousness that nan state is successful a infinitesimal of crisis.

"If there's thing catastrophic, they will engage," Sonnenfeld said of CEOs, adding that we could spot executives go much vocal if Trump were to suffer nan predetermination and garbage to concede.

"There's a beautiful precocious probability that if Trump isn't a clear winner, there's going to beryllium a batch of confusion, if not a law crisis," Sonnenfeld said. "And past they will get involved."