Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein is greeted by former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), in New York City on Sept. 24, 2014.
Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein backed Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential race but told CNN in an interview published on Feb. 14 that the economy is better off under President Donald Trump.
“I haven’t felt this good since 2006,” Blankfein told CNN. “If the president didn’t win and Hillary Clinton won, I bet you the economy is higher today than it otherwise would be.”
The U.S. economy has soared since Trump’s election. Small business confidence is at an all-time high; unemployment is at a 45-year low; and, after several turbulent days, the stock market is set to have its best week since 2011.
Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein speaks at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York City on Sept. 20, 2017. Heads of state and international business leaders met to discuss global issues and challenges to economic growth. John Moore/Getty Images
Trump spearheaded the passage of a comprehensive tax-reform bill that lowered taxes for businesses and more than 90 percent of working Americans. As a result, more than 350 companies—including Apple, Bank of America, Walmart, and Jetblue—have announced cash bonuses, wage increases, and increased investments in the United States.
A provision in the tax bill makes it easier for American companies bring back overseas cash. As a result, Apple announced in January plans to repatriate $269 billion from overseas. On Thursday, Cisco said that it is bringing back $69 billion.
Meanwhile, more than 3.8 million Americans have received, or are set to receive, Trump-tax-reform cash bonuses, according to Americans for Tax Reform.
Two days after Trump was inaugurated, Blankfein told CNBC that Wall Street’s confidence can be linked to the election, but stopped short of giving Trump full credit. In his latest comments, Blankfein expressed glowing support for Trump’s economic agenda.
Blankfein’s image was featured in a Trump campaign advertizement as part of a montage of establishment figures, which also included Bill and Hillary Clinton, George Soros, and Janet Yellen, among others. Goldman Sachs has deep ties to the Clinton Foundation. Blankfein partly financed a hedge fund founded by Chelsea Clinton’s husband, Marc Mezvinsky.
The Trump administration is also cutting regulations at an unprecedented rate. Trump signed an order requiring that two old regulations be cut for each new one created. The administration has far surpassed the two-to-one requirement, slashing 26 old regulations for each new rule.
“I would say the conditions are not just benign, they’re highly supportive of a good economy,” Blankfein said.
“The economy was good before. On top of it we put a trillion-and-a-half in tax cuts, 300 billion dollars of additional spending, maybe even an infrastructure bill, and so the sentiment is very positive,” Blankfein added.
