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CEOs have been forced to swallow their tongues<\/a> when discussing former president Donald Trump because they\u2019re afraid he might retaliate against them, according to former American Express<\/a> CEO Ken Chenault.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fear is real,\u201d Chenault told<\/a> Bloomberg<\/em> in a lengthy article detailing Trump\u2019s economic policies.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chenault, who is now the chairman of venture capital firm General Catalyst, alleged corporate leaders were afraid Trump would hit back at them if they said anything negative about him.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are staying on the sidelines because they greatly fear that there will be retribution,\u201d Chenault said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chenault did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for General Catalyst said Chenault was speaking as a private citizen. \u201cGeneral Catalyst does not endorse any presidential candidate,\u201d they said in an emailed statement. \u201cAs a company, we will work with any presidential administration.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the course of the presidential campaign Trump has repeatedly stated he would look to strike back at adversaries should he win the White House. On several occasions he has used the word \u201cretribution<\/a>,\u201d just as Chenault did. In an interview with the television host Dr. Phil, shortly after he was convicted of 34 felony counts over financial fraud his 2016 campaign committed in connection to hush money payments made to the pornstar Stormy Daniels, Trump extolled the idea of vengeance. \u201cSometimes revenge can be justified,\u201d Trump said<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Most of Trump\u2019s threats have been reserved for political opponents<\/a>, whom he has said he would have \u201cevery right<\/a>\u201d to prosecute. Though he has had no shortage of antipathy for certain business leaders as well. In particular, he has declared his dislike for Silicon Valley executives, with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon<\/a> founder and executive chair Jeff Bezos <\/a>among his favorite targets. Zuckerberg has been a frequent recipient of his ire, since Meta\u2019s decision to ban<\/a> the former president from Facebook<\/a> and Instagram after a mob of his supporters stormed the capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Meta lifted the ban<\/a> in February 2023.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s done little to patch up the relationship in Trump\u2019s eyes. Last week, the Republican nominee labeled Zuckerberg an \u201cElection Fraudster,\u201d baselessly accusing the Meta CEO of rigging U.S. elections and threatening to jail him. \u201cDON\u2019T DO IT! ZUCKERBUCKS, be careful!\u201d Trump wrote<\/a> on his social media platform Truth Social.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Bezos earned the typically Trumpian moniker of \u201cJeff Bozo\u201d in a 2019 post<\/a> on X (then Twitter). The problems between the two started when Bezos opposed<\/a> Trump\u2019s 2017 immigration ban on Muslim-majority countries. Bezos\u2019 ownership of the Washington Post<\/em>, whose coverage of his administration Trump regularly took issue with, also didn\u2019t help the tech billionaire\u00a0 share in the former president\u2019s good graces.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just the personal enmities and threats of political retaliation (which is worrying in and of itself) corporate leaders are also worried about the substance of Trump\u2019s economic policies. On more than one occasion, Trump has made it known he\u2019d like to impose 60% tariffs on any Chinese products<\/a> and 10% tariffs on all other foreign goods. For the top executives of Fortune 500 companies, the idea of paying 10% more on any product their sprawling company might need from a different country could spell extreme financial distress. Economists widely expect Trump\u2019s policies would be inflationary<\/a> should he succeed in implementing them. All of his policies are expected Trump allies also floated a plan reducing the Federal Reserve\u2019s independence, which business leaders balked at, according to the Wall Street Journal<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n In recent weeks, Yale professor Jeffery Sonnenfeld, who is well connected with top CEOs, has taken Trump to task for what he deems are policies that would harm U.S. businesses. \u201cThese Trump positions have more in common with Karl Marx than Adam Smith,\u201d Sonnenfeld wrote<\/a> in a New York Times<\/em> op-ed published last month.\u00a0<\/p>\n Though, many CEOs seem to believe a second Trump presidency is likely. As such they\u2019ve made the traditional pilgrimage executives often do to leading presidential candidates. Although a June meeting between former president Donald Trump and a group of top CEOs left both parties with dueling impressions. The CEOs (anonymously) told their advisers Trump was \u201cremarkably meandering\u201d and \u201ccouldn\u2019t keep a straight thought,\u201d according to CNBC.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Trump told Bloomberg the meeting was a \u201clovefest\u201d where he was not just feted but praised, lauded, and adored by corporate leaders.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n