Jamie Dimon: US should elect president who works to ‘unite us’

JPMorgan Chase Chair Jamie Dimon warned America’s leaders not to “sleepwalk into disaster” but to offer “strong American leadership” to “unite us.” 

“This is precisely the time when strong American leadership is needed to unite us and strengthen the indispensable role our country plays,” Dimon wrote in a column in The Washington Post. “We’ve faced worse: war, economic upheaval, social transformation. In those moments, leaders such as Presidents Lincoln, Truman and Eisenhower guided us forward with common sense and pragmatism.

“Our best leaders strengthen the bonds that unite us. They address the broader interests of our country and don’t pander to base politics or cater to extremes,” he added. 

Dimon also called on the government to include more business leaders in the Cabinet to develop a stronger national policy agenda. 

Former President Trump floated and then shot down the idea of naming Dimon as his Treasury secretary in July.

Dimon offered a set of solutions for future U.S. presidents to address the nation’s problems in his column. 

“First, our problems cannot be fixed without our leaders acknowledging them,” he wrote. “Unite Americans with regular, honest and open communication. We deserve a president who explains our problems, encourages input from all sides, and shares plans and solutions.” 

Dimon invoked former President Eisenhower’s decision to “have lunch or dinner with opposition leaders, including those he disagreed with.” He pointed to business leaders listening to critics for ideas on how they can do better.

“If we’re going to truly unify our country, we need to begin treating opposing views, complaints and critiques as opportunities to find common ground and make us better,” he added. 

He also called on policymakers to “develop policies that reflect our critical place on the global stage.” 

“These national policies should include facing — and fixing — our failure to create equal opportunity for all, expanding the economy by encouraging investments, sharing the wealth, addressing our national debt, maintaining the world’s strongest military, taking control of our borders, strengthening the social safety nets, and renewing national pride by unabashedly teaching civics and American exceptionalism without papering over our mistakes,” he wrote. 

He criticized the Biden administration’s move to delay long-term liquid natural gas projects in Louisiana and Texas, calling it “misguided and self-defeating.” 

“Our allies are fighting wars to defend their sovereignty and democracies, and desperately need secure and reliable energy sources,” he wrote. “It is bad for the environment and the economy — and it is bad for our allies.”

Dimon also advocated for reforming mortgage rules to allow lower-income families to buy homes more easily and for expanding the earned income tax credit. 

“We lack coherent energy, education, infrastructure, housing, tax and immigration policies. While we agree sometimes on the problems and the goals, our prescriptions are too often simplistic and poorly designed,” he wrote. 

Alongside developing better strategy, Dimon also called on future American presidents to choose a “group of rivals” for their team, harkening back to President Lincoln’s decision to appoint a group of leaders who disagreed with each other to his Cabinet. 

“Tribal politics will not deliver the best talent and expertise across the political spectrum. Put country and Constitution first,” Dimon wrote. “The private sector has huge wells of expertise and produces 85 percent of our nation’s jobs. It should have a seat at the table. Yet in recent years, government leaders have often failed to engage those in industry.” 

Dimon also urged presidential candidates to engage with all voters. 

“Recognize that voters are all different and have good reasons to think differently. Do not insult, stereotype, weaponize, scapegoat or gaslight. And do not attack them. Engage them,” he wrote.