CEO poll shows Trump economic policies are bad, but they’re too scared to speak up 

When we talk about the economy, Donald Trump likes to paint himself as some sort of financial savior — the guy who knows how to make America rich again. But if you take a closer look, a different story emerges. And it’s not just political opponents saying this, it’s the people who actually run America’s biggest companies.  

According to a recent survey from the Yale School of Management, shared with Axios, “in private, the leaders of some of the country’s best-known companies say that a number of White House policies have been bad for their businesses — and possibly illegal.”  

Think about that. CEOs, the ones who usually play nice with Republicans, are whispering about how these policies are hurting them. And yet the Axios article says, “in public, business leaders are keeping relatively quiet, fearing retribution from President Trump.” Translation: the so-called “pro-business president” has corporate America too scared to say what they really think.  

Let’s talk about why.  

Tariffs — or as some like to call it, the Trump Turbulence Tax — were sold as a way to protect American jobs. But in practice they’ve been erratic, confusing and downright costly. One day the deadline shifts, the next day the rules change, and businesses are left scrambling. It’s not just annoying, it’s destabilizing. Seventy-one percent of CEOs surveyed in the Yale study said tariffs were directly harmful to their business. And 74 percent agreed with the courts that Trump’s tariffs were flat-out illegal as executed.  

Then there’s the Federal Reserve. Eight out of 10 executives said Trump was not acting in the country’s best interest by pressuring Fed Chair Jerome Powell to slash rates. On health care, 76 percent of them think policies under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are putting public health at risk. And let’s not forget the new $100,000 fee slapped on H-1B visas, making it harder for tech companies to hire global talent.   

So, what does this all add up to? Businesses are delaying investments, cutting back on hiring and watching costs climb. Consumers — meaning us — are paying more at the register. And the very foundation of our economy, confidence in the rule of law, is being chipped away.  

Immigration policy is another piece of this puzzle. Eight months into Trump’s term, worksite raids have ramped up, and the ripple effects hit hard. In California, workforce participation dropped 3.1 percent in a single month. Among noncitizens, it plunged 7.2 percent. That’s not protecting jobs — that’s shrinking the labor force. Farms, construction sites and food plants felt it first. The rest of us felt it later, at the grocery store and in the housing market.  

And while all this was happening, the federal deficit ballooned, thanks in large part to Trump’s 2017 tax cuts paired with more spending — you remember, his “big beautiful bill”! It’s kind of ironic: the man who branded himself as a businessman left the country with a balance sheet that would make any CFO cringe.  

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, the Yale professor who organized the CEO gathering, summed it up best: “They’re all afraid of being marginalized” by the White House.  

That’s the bottom line. Trump’s economic playbook isn’t some genius-level strategy, it’s chaos disguised as policy. Sure, it might sound tough on the campaign trail, but the data tells the truth: businesses are hurting, workers are vulnerable, and our long-term stability is at risk.  

And here’s the kicker: if you still think Trump is the guy who can “save” the economy, just remember — most CEOs won’t even say that out loud. Not because they believe it, but because they’re too afraid to contradict him. And that, to me, says it all.  

Lindsey Granger is a News Nation contributor and co-host of The Hill’s commentary show “Rising.” This column is an edited transcription of her on-air commentary.