 Hi, and welcome back to Semafor Business, where we’re debuting our new look. A weird thing about business is that CEOs get report cards every three months about how well they’re preparing their companies for a distant future. They complain that “short-termism” blinds shareholders, who demand immediate profits without seeing the vision. Those shareholders complain that “long-termism” lets CEOs waste their money to chase riches that may never materialize. It’s a temporal trap. Right now, the CEO in that scenario is President Donald Trump, who has embarked on a wholesale transformation of America’s business plan and balance sheet. He’s asking corporate America and financial markets to bear with him until the tariffs pay off, manufacturing returns, and the US owns Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. The “period of transition” Trump is warning about is the trough of the J curve. Executives are unnerved, to say the least. But they are professionally primed for the argument Trump is making: short-term pain for long-term gain. Trust us. We have a strategic plan. I heard it again and again this week in Washington, where I was interviewing some of those CEOs on stage and cajoling others for a readout of their private conversations with Trump, who spoke at an event with the Business Roundtable, a group of blue-chip executives. “Every CEO I talk to, we’re starting to talk about a more fearful economy right now,” BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink told me. “But I do believe this is going to be more short-term, once we understand the policies, once we become more accustomed to it.” In short, the business community likes Trump’s strategy, but is iffy on the tactics (tariffs), nervous about the up-front costs (a potential recession), and skeptical of his ability to execute. For the moment, Trump has their silence. I asked one Fortune 50 boss this week what would change that: “another 5 points” off the S&P 500, which is down 8% from its February highs. In this edition: Scott Bessent at the BRT; Jamie Dimon gets some things off his chest; and a new way to finance global rearmament. |