Donald Trump embraces Donald Trump Jr as Lara Trump, Eric Trump and Tiffany Trump look on at his campaign rally, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., November 4, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Republican billionaire donor Ken Griffin is disgusted by watching Donald Trump's administration make billions for the president while trying to put their thumb on corporate America.
Speaking during a conference hosted by the Wall Street Journal, Griffin said that Trump's behavior "calls into question, is the public interest being served?”
The Guardian reported on Wednesday that Griffin, the CEO of Citadel, said that Trump's policy decisions have been “very, very enriching” for his friends working in the administration. While other administration officials are making money from the president's decisions, Griffin singled out his eldest adult sons, Don Jr. and Eric. The two men have been using their crypto-friendly father to score lucrative business deals while also promising that there is a "huge wall" between them and the presidency.
In his first year, Trump used the power of the federal government to target corporations that it said embraced diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. His tariff policies have also created problems for specific sectors of corporate America. Trump then had the U.S. Department of Commerce take a 9.9 percent stake in Intel in late 2025. He also purchased a 5 percent stake in Lithium Americas for the government.
The corruption is so significant that even GOP officials fear that Americans might punish Republican candidates over it in the midterm elections.
The CEOs that Griffin knows find Trump's behavior "incredibly distasteful” when the “US government starts to engage in corporate America in a way that tastes of favoritism."
“Most CEOs just don’t want to find themselves in the business of having to, in some sense, suck up to one administration after another to succeed in running their business,” he added.
The behavior is so infuriating that Griffin suggested he might even run for office, saying, “At some point in my life, I would like to be involved in public service."
The administration responded to Griffin by saying that Trump has exploded the economy.