(Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski for AFP)
During a segment on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, CNBC’s Squawk Box host Andrew Ross Sorkin revealed that President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) as head of the Department of Justice has unsettled many Wall Street executives. According to Sorkin, the controversial pick caused a stark shift in sentiment among business leaders who were initially optimistic about Trump’s economic agenda.
Recounting his experience at a recent conference with top investors, Sorkin shared the moment the news broke. “I was at a conference yesterday, and there were a whole bunch of investors when the news came down,” he said. “Up until that moment, so many of them had a big grin on their face about where the market was going, the economy, all of that.”
The initial reaction to the announcement was disbelief. “When it first came across the phone, there were people, including, by the way, myself, who thought it was a parody account, who literally thought it was The Onion, and they didn’t believe it,” Sorkin recalled. “The shift in tone went from, ‘Wow, we’re going to have a great economy,’ to ‘Okay, maybe now I have to worry,’ in the blink of an eye” told by MSN.
Sorkin described how the nomination sparked widespread concern in the business community, particularly regarding the implications for law enforcement and the justice system. “All night, it was the same thing with my phone lighting up from people in the business community,” he explained. “When it comes to law and order, when it comes to the Justice Department and what this is ultimately going to look like, what prosecutions are going to look like, that threw a lot of people back on their feet.”
Despite these private reservations, Sorkin noted a reluctance among business leaders to voice their concerns publicly. “The question is whether they can stand up and say so publicly,” he added. “And I think unfortunately, the answer is still no—especially no because of the role this individual may ultimately play.”
The controversy underscores lingering tensions between Trump’s political decisions and the expectations of corporate America, with Sorkin’s account shedding light on the unease rippling through Wall Street.
