President Joe Biden’s announcement Sunday that he won’t seek re-election was another wild development in the campaign season, coming just a week after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
The latest news quickly reverberated through Wall Street and the business community, days after top CEOs condemned political violence and wished Trump a speedy recovery from his gunshot wound.
For his part, Trump was quick to react on his Truth Social platform Sunday, saying “Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve – And never was!”
Elon Musk
The Tesla CEO endorsed Trump just minutes after last week’s shooting and offered an initial reaction to Sunday’s news in a reply on X.
“I heard last week that he would resign at this exact time and date. It was widespread knowledge in DC. The real powers that be are discarding the old puppet in favor of one that has a better chance of fooling the public. They fear Trump because he is not a puppet.”
Bill Ackman
Like Musk, the CEO of Pershing Square indicated his support for Trump last weekend. Tweeting on Sunday, he said “If @KamalaHarris is not the nominee, it would be an acknowledgement that she was never qualified to be vice president. @KamalaHarris will therefore be the nominee.”
Mark Cuban
The billionaire entrepreneur, Shark Tank star, and minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team has been a steadfast supporter of Biden, even after his disastrous debate performance last month, when he looked old and frail.
On Sunday, he only tweeted, “Father time is undefeated.”
Reed Hastings
Netflix’s cofounder and chairman posted on X that “Dem delegates need to pick a swing state winner.”
Reid Hoffman
The LinkedIn co-founder and donor to Biden’s campaign hailed Biden’s decision and expressed his support for Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place at the top of the ticket.
“Harris’s background and leadership growing the economy, fighting for bodily autonomy, and protecting our democracy uniquely position her to push back against Trump’s extremism,” wrote in a thread on X.
Aaron Levie
The CEO of Box, a provider of cloud-based content management, said on X: “Wow. Amazing leadership. Now let’s go!”
Vinod Khosla
The billionaire Silicon Valley venture capitalist urged Democrats to have an open convention and pick a more moderate candidate who can beat Trump.
On X, he also said Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro “would be a great thing for America not held hostage between MAGA extremists and DEI extremism. Unique opportunity for a better moderate path. Every socially liberal, climate and fiscal voter should want it to balance our approach.”
Lawrence Summers
The former Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton and White House economic adviser to President Barack Obama tweeted that Biden’s withdrawal was a “noble act.”
“The President can lay claim to this legacy: No president since FDR has passed so much legislation supporting the economic interests of the middle class. I have not agreed with every measure, but the cumulative accomplishment will be studied by historians for decades and perhaps centuries to come.”
Gina Bolvin
The president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group said in a statement that “Biden stepping down is a whole new level of political uncertainty. This may be the catalyst for market volatility that is overdue.”
Morris Pearl
The former managing director at BlackRock and current chairman of Patriotic Millionaires, which advocates for a highly progressive tax system, a livable minimum wage, and equal political representation to tackle inequality, praised Biden’s move.
“President Biden’s decision to sacrifice his personal political ambitions in service to the American people will go down in history as an unrivaled act of selfless patriotism. By passing the baton to the next generation, Biden cements his legacy as a bulwark against the rising tide of authoritarianism, a fierce advocate for working people, and a fundamentally good man who put his country above all else,” he said in a statement Sunday.
