What CEOs really think of Trump and the economy, according to Yale

Chief executives across the U.S. gave a scathing review of how the Trump administration’s economic policies are impacting their businesses and the economy in a new survey.  

Last week, business leaders came together at Yale’s biannual CEO caucus in Washington, D.C. to discuss, in private, their thoughts on the Trump administration’s policies. During the event, the Yale School of Management surveyed the more than 70 CEOs in attendance on what they thought about tariffs, President Trump’s attacks on the Federal Reserve, and more. 

Tariffs

President Trump introduced a slew of global tariff policies in April — on a day he calls “Liberation Day” — and CEOs aren’t happy about it. About 70% of them said Trump’s tariffs have been harmful to their businesses while 74% agreed with the courts that the president’s tariffs are illegal as executed. 

Part of the president’s reasoning for his global trade war was to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. But 62% of business leaders polled said they aren’t investing more in domestic manufacturing or infrastructure since Trump’s “Liberation Day.” 

Furthermore, 82% of business leaders are against the Trump administration using tariffs to “interfere in the peaceful, domestic political events of foreign countries," according to the survey.  

Federal Reserve 

Trump has been engaging in a ceaseless attack against Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell for months. He’s thrown countless insults at Powell for not cutting interest rates at Trump’s preferred pace while simultaneously trying to leave his mark on the central bank, like with his recent attempt to oust Fed governor Lisa Cook. The Fed cut interest rates last week for the first time since Trump took office in January. 

The majority of surveyed CEOs don’t agree with the president’s pressure campaign on the central bank. Out of the more than 70 business leaders, 80% said the president isn’t acting in the best interest of the country by pressuring Powell to cut rates. And about 70% said the Fed’s independence has been eroded by the Trump administration’s recent actions. 

TikTok deal

The Trump administration is in the midst of negotiating a deal with TikTok’s owner ByteDance to lease the app’s algorithm to the United States. Oracle is set to run and secure TikTok’s algorithm in the U.S., the White House has said, after it emerged that the tech giant’s founder Larry Ellison, plus Rupert Murdoch and Michael Dell, will likely be part of the group taking over the app’s U.S. arm.

Nearly 70% of business leaders say Trump is “giving in” to China on the TikTok deal, and 80% say the deal is an apparent threat to national security. 

Almost 80% agree that Ellison’s role in the TikTok deal would make him the “most powerful media executive in the world,” but most don’t think it's a problem if he or Paramount have a controlling stake in the app.  

The surveyed CEOs also gave a fairly unfavorable review of the Trump administration’s impact on foreign relations and public health.  

—Alex Daniel contributed to this article.