JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon urged the next president of the United States not to “pander to base politics or cater to extremes” — but refused to endorse either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.
The 68-year-old penned an op-ed in the Democrat-backing Washington Post newspaper in which he laid out his views on the forthcoming presidential election in November.
“We live in a perilous time. Deeply divided, our nation now faces both challenging domestic issues and perhaps the most complicated geopolitical situation since World War II,” Dimon wrote.
“This is precisely the time when strong American leadership is needed to unite us and strengthen the indispensable role our country plays for the safety of the world.
We’ve faced worse: war, economic upheaval, social transformation. In those moments, leaders such as Presidents Lincoln, Truman and Eisenhower guided us forward with common sense and pragmatism,” the Wall Street titan added.
The veteran banker was reportedly in the mix to become Trump’s next treasury secretary if he wins back the keys to the White House later this year.
But Trump later backed away from previous suggestions that the Queens-born money man was in the running, blaming the “Radical Left” for the speculation.
Dimon stopped short of formally endorsing Kamala Harris or the Republican nominee, but urged both candidates not to just focus on their loyalist supporters.
Harris replaced Joe Biden as the presumptive name at the top of the Democrat ticket after the president, 81, dropped out amid concerns about his age and ailing health.
“Our best leaders strengthen the bonds that unite us. They address the broader interests of our country and don’t pander to base politics or cater to extremes,” he wrote.
“Unite Americans with regular, honest and open communication. We deserve a president who explains our problems, encourages input from all sides, and shares plans and solutions.
“The members of a president’s Cabinet and administration should reflect the entire nation. Tribal politics will not deliver the best talent and expertise across the political spectrum.”
But the Harvard Business School graduate seemingly remains keen on a top government job as he urged the future commander-in-chief to tap into talent from the worlds of finance and commerce.
“The private sector has huge wells of expertise and produces 85 percent of our nation’s jobs. It should have a seat at the table,” Dimon said in what may be seen as an early job application.
“Yet in recent years, government leaders have often failed to engage those in industry. A president should put the most talented people, including those from business and the opposite party, into their Cabinet.
Dimon, JP Morgan CEO since 2006, had previously urged Democrats to be respectful of Donald Trump’s MAGA movement, saying the ex-president was “kind of right” about NATO and immigration.
His comments angered the Joe Biden White House as the Post exclusively reported in February.
Dimon said in May that the succession plan at JP Morgan to take over from him is “well under way” with a reported three-way race between three possible top candidates.
They are consumer-banking chief Marianne Lake, co-head of JPM’s investment and commercial bank Jennifer Piepszak, and Troy Rohrbaugh, the other commercial and investment bank co-CEO.
A spokesman for the bank declined for comment, but a source close to Dimon said he “was not singling out a specific party or candidates.
“He thinks both sides have to focus much more on listening to the other side, facing up to problems and working together to focus on them, not scapegoating, not attacking each other, getting private sector and government to work together,” the source told the Post.
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