Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein on Thursday used his first tweet ever to slam President Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement.
Blankfein called Trump’s move “a setback for the environment and for the U.S.’s leadership position in the world.” It was the first tweet sent from his verified account, first reserved in June 2011.
Blankfein, like many corporate and finance titans, has expressed mixed feelings about Trump before. He praised the president’s business experience, but spoke out against Trump’s temporary travel ban against several majority-Muslim countries.
{mosads}Blankfein joins the tech community, global leaders and Democratic governors and mayors in slamming the climate call.
Trump has a mixed history with Goldman Sachs. He routinely criticized Hillary Clinton for making paid speeches to Goldman employees, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), his rival for the GOP nomination, for loans he’d taken out from the bank. Cruz’s wife, Heidi, was a managing partner, and the loans were taken out against a line of credit they had with Goldman Sachs.
Even so, Trump has relied on Goldman alumni in important positions throughout his campaign and presidency. Senior adviser Stephen Bannon was a Goldman banker before joining Breitbart News and later the Trump campaign, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also worked at the bank.
After his election, Trump tapped former Goldman Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn, widely considered Blankfein’s likely heir, to lead the National Economic Council.