Jamie Dimon on Democratic friends: ‘Big hearts and little brains’
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Thursday knocked Democrats for pushing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies instead of “real world” solutions.
“I have a lot of friends who are Democrats, and they’re idiots,” Dimon said at a foreign-ministry event in Ireland, according to Bloomberg.
“I always say they have big hearts and little brains. They do not understand how the real world works. Almost every single policy rolled out failed,” he added.
Dimon argued many have been overly focused on DEI.
“They overdid DEI. We all were devoted to reaching out to the Black community, Hispanic, the LGBT community, the disabled — we do all of that,” Dimon said.
“But the extent, they gotta stop it. And they gotta go back to being more practical. They’re very ideological,” the Fortune 500 CEO added.
In March, Dimon’s company rebranded its DEI efforts to Diversity, Opportunity and Inclusion (DOI).
“The ‘e’ always meant equal opportunity to us, not equal outcomes, and we believe this more accurately reflects our ongoing approach to reach the most customers and clients to grow our business, create an inclusive workplace for our employees and increase access to opportunities,” Chief Operating Officer Jenn Piepszak wrote in a company memo, as reported by Reuters.
The shift came two months after President Trump issued an executive order banning DEI practices from the federal government and encouraging companies to eradicate similar efforts in the private sector.
Dimon on Thursday also criticized the former Biden administration for not having “one business person” advising former President Biden, saying he was left “speechless” by what he characterized as the former president’s “lack of knowledge.”
As Democrats look to rebuild after suffering a major defeat in 2024, the CEO suggested they lean away from candidates who resemble New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist who won the Democratic nomination.
“He’s more of a Marxist than a socialist, and now you see these Democrats falling all over themselves saying, ‘Well, he’s pointing out some real problems, affordable housing and grocery prices.’ OK, maybe,” Dimon said, according to Bloomberg. “There’s the same ideological mush that means nothing in the real world.”