Jamie Dimon Says He'd Bet Donald Trump Doesn't Win Again in 2020

(Bloomberg) -- JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said that if he had to wager on the outcome of the 2020 election, it would be for a Democrat in the White House.

“My guess is no better than yours, but if I had to bet” it'd be that Donald Trump will be a one-term president, Dimon said Wednesday at an Economic Club of Chicago event. “The Democrats have to come up with a reasonable candidate. If they have a complete leftist candidate, Trump will win again.”

Dimon, 61, who's described himself as “barely a Democrat,” had several digs for Trump during an hour-long discussion that ranged from the current tax overhaul to lessons from the financial crisis.

Regarding the nation to the south, Dimon said that “we should never be rude to a neighbor like Mexico." Dimon conceded that sometimes the president is "partially right,” like on his stance with China, which has unfair advantages in terms of trade. And the CEO offered his opinion that Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan should be president, based on the job he's done with that city.

Dimon, who is chairman of the Business Roundtable in addition to running the largest U.S. bank, also proposed what he'd like to see in the tax overhaul that Trump aims to make the signature achievement of his first year in office. The U.S. needs to cut corporate rates to keep businesses from moving abroad, even if that means raising rates for wealthy individuals and removing the carried interest tax break for investment managers, Dimon said.

State Deduction

Dimon also said he wants to see negative tax rates for lower-income individuals and is in favor of limiting the state and local tax deduction since it mostly favors the wealthy in high-spending states such as New York, where JPMorgan is based.

“I don't think the private equity guys should argue for carried interest, I don't think the hedge fund guys should be arguing for deferrals, I don't think I should argue for reducing my rate,” he said. “If you want to raise my rate, so be it.”

Dimon also brought up several gripes he's previously aired. He said he regrets buying Bear Stearns Cos. because his firm was later fined for that bank's actions. He said he'll write a book about the lessons from the financial crisis, and name people that treated the bank unfairly in regards to the government-requested purchase.

“I would never shake the hand of the government again,” Dimon said. “I don't trust any one of them, ever.”

Other topics he addressed:

• JPMorgan, which has announced investments in Detroit and Chicago, is considering New Orleans and Washington as the next targets of its growth initiative.
• Dimon said that Chinese banks have an unfair advantage because they can more easily acquire U.S. businesses than the other way around.
• European regulators should allow for the formation of a pan-European bank to make them competitive with other global lenders.

--With assistance from Brian Louis

To contact the reporter on this story: Hugh Son in New York at hson1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Steven Crabill

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