JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon supports Trump tariffs, says ‘get over it’

Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, repeatedly warned against tariffs during President Trump’s first term. They posed a threat to the economy, he said repeatedly in 2018, and “would not be positive,” he said in 2019.

Today, two days into Mr. Trump’s second term, Mr. Dimon called the tariffs a valuable “economic weapon.”

“If it’s a little bit inflationary, but it’s good for national security, so be it,” Mr. Dimon told CNBC on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum’s annual conference in Davos, Switzerland. “Get over it,” he added.

Mr. Dimon did not specify how he believed the tariffs would improve national security.

Mr. Dimon’s endorsement is notable because the longtime head of JPMorgan, the nation’s largest bank, had long been a critic of Mr. Trump. During the president’s first term, Mr. Dimon once described himself as “smarter than he is,” in comments that the bank chief later regretted. Mr. Dimon supported Kamala Harris during the presidential campaign.

But that was then. While Mr. Trump says he plans to impose tariffs of 25% on goods from Canada and Mexico by next month, and 10% on imports from China, Mr. Dimon seems to be taking a fresh look at this policy.

“The question is how they are used,” he said Wednesday. “Can they bring – be used to bring – people to the table?” Yes.”

A JPMorgan spokesperson said Mr. Dimon had not changed his mind and that the issue was “not binary.”