President-elect Trump has an impressive and reassuring ability to change his mind, the top business lobbyist said Wednesday.
“I’ve been very impressed with how the president-elect, when he becomes more familiar with subjects, he doesn’t back away from his objectives, but he moderates his position,” said Thomas Donohue, head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said at a press conference.
Donohue cited Trump’s reassessment of replacing Obamacare after speaking directly with President Obama after the election of an instance of Trump changing his mind in response to new information.
“That’s the kind of person you want to deal with,” Donohue concluded, noting also that the new administration will be staffed with high-quality appointments.
In a press apperance that was highly conciliatory to the incoming administration, Donohue also downplayed concerns about Trump’s habit of singling out companies for criticism through his Twitter account.
Past presidents, including Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, also directly engaged with private businesses, he noted.
Trump is just “going after them with a new form of communication,” Donohue said. “Certainly no one in this room should take question with that, because we’re all living with this new communication.”
Such criticisms can be taken too far, he acknowledged, but so far businesses that have faced scrutiny from Trump have performed well.
Among others, Trump has taken issue with the offshoring practices of Ford, Carrier and other manufacturers, and has complained about the cost of government contracts for Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
