Trump's Public Criticism of CEOs: A Growing List of Prominent Executives Targeted by the President

US President Donald Trump has publicly criticized several prominent CEOs and businesses, including Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Trump has taken issue with Solomon's take on the potential impact of tariffs on the economy and has demanded Tan's resignation due to his alleged conflict of interest. Trump and Musk have also had a falling out over Musk's criticism of Trump's tax-cut and spending bill.

US President Donald Trump has recently targeted several prominent CEOs and businesses, including Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. His criticisms range from tariff impacts to alleged conflicts of interest and policy disagreements.

Goldman Sachs and David Solomon

Trump has publicly criticized Goldman Sachs and its CEO, David Solomon, for what he perceives as misjudgments in assessing the impact of tariffs on markets and consumer costs. According to a report from Goldman Sachs, U.S. consumers are projected to bear 67% of tariff costs, contrasting Trump's claim that companies, not consumers, should shoulder the burden [2]. Trump mocked Solomon's DJ persona ("DJ D-Sol") while defending tariffs as inflation-free revenue generators [2].

Intel and Lip-Bu Tan

Trump has demanded the resignation of Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan due to his alleged conflict of interest. Tan was criticized for investing at least $200 million in hundreds of Chinese advanced manufacturing and chip firms, some of which are reportedly linked to the Chinese military [1]. Trump has publicly called for Tan's resignation, stating that he is "highly conflicted" and must resign immediately [1]. However, Tan responded by stating that Intel's board is "fully supportive of the work we are doing to transform our company" [1].

Tesla and Elon Musk

Trump and Elon Musk have had a falling out over Musk's criticism of the administration's new tax-cut and spending bill. Musk spent millions of dollars supporting Trump's re-election, but the relationship soured when Musk publicly criticized the bill's projected impact on federal debt [1]. Trump retaliated by threatening to cut federal subsidies and contracts to Musk's companies and stating that Musk "just went CRAZY" [1]. The feud escalated when Trump suggested that the Department of Justice should "take a good, hard, look at" Musk's contracts [1].

References

[1] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/elon-musk-tim-cook-lip-bu-tan-and-3-more-ceos-that-trump-has-publicly-criticised/articleshow/123215429.cms
[2] https://www.ainvest.com/news/trump-criticizes-david-solomon-goldman-sachs-tariff-forecasts-rising-consumer-costs-2508/