Big-name, billionaire CEOs are taking a more public stance with their support of former President Donald Trump for one of two reasons, according to “Shark Tank’s” Kevin O’Leary.
“There’s two sets of endorsements,” O’Leary started to detail on “The Big Money Show” Monday. “One is [to] deplore, talking about how assassination attempts are just un-American in every way. And that’s what many CEOs and business leaders did.”
“But this time around, in terms of business leaders actually endorsing a candidate, particularly Trump,” he added, “I think people are starting to anticipate policy decisions.”
Public figures and business leaders like Apple CEO Tim Cook, fellow “Shark Tank” star Mark Cuban, JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and more reacted on social media with shock, sorrow and prayers over the attempted assassination of former President Trump during a campaign rally Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania.
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Trump was grazed by a bullet that pierced his upper right ear after he turned to his right while addressing the crowd from a podium at the event. One attendee, Corey Comperatore, was killed in the shooting while two other rallygoers were wounded.
While Cook, Cuban, Dimon, Zuckerberg and company-wide statements from Microsoft and BlackRock all strongly condemned Saturday’s tragedy and expressed deep sympathy for the former president, Musk and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman pledged their vote for Trump in November.
“But the reason you would get a CEO endorsing Trump is probably that the environment for business will be better,” O’Leary reacted.
American business leaders’ biggest bet will be placed on the energy sector, according to the O’Leary Ventures chairman, who nodded to Trump’s pro-clean oil, gas and domestic production stances.
“That is going to change the game in America for the energy sector, one of the 11 sectors that’s been really pushed back in terms of its potential around LNG exports, around increasing [reserve] capacity, where all that would change,” the “Shark Tank” investor said.
“Trump is a de-regulator,” he continued. “He keeps saying, I want innovation, not regulation. So you’re going to get this environment no matter what sector you’re a specialist in, and you’re going to say, ‘Wait a second, it’s a game changer.’”
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FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.
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