Posted on 02/04/2017 12:39:05 AM PST by aquila48
Retired General Electric CEO Jack Welch says his two-hour White House meeting with President Trump and other business executives “far exceeded my expectations” and covered issues ranging from immigration to financial regulations to women in the workplace.
“I’m telling you it was one of the best meetings I’ve ever been to in my life in terms of real stuff, real issues being discussed,” Welch told the Herald by phone last night. “No phony baloney. Nothing like that.”
Welch said he has met with nearly every president since 1981, and found Trump surprisingly well-versed on topics, engaged and genuinely focused on the task of creating jobs.
“Real guy and really concerned about every worker in the country,” said Welch. “Solid, down-to-earth, on top of the issues. The guys at the GE plant in Lynn would love him.”
Welch publicly supported Trump for president, but pulled it in October after the “Access Hollywood” tape emerged of Trump making lewd comments about women.
Trump met with Welch and a panel of CEOs from corporations including Tesla, JPMorgan Chase, General Motors and Wal-Mart and even assigned them tasks to perform before they meet again. Welch said the economic advisory panel will reconvene monthly at first, then quarterly.
Trump broached a variety of subjects with the CEOs — a border tax, the travel ban, limitations on lending — but didn’t submit firm proposals, said Welch.
“It was as intense as a GE staff meeting or a Herald staff meeting — guys with their shirtsleeves rolled up going at it,” said Welch. “There wasn’t one iota of negativity. The people in the room want to go to work for him and bring him the best suggestions possible, and he wants to get them done fast.”
(Excerpt) Read more at bostonherald.com ...
Welch has doubtless watched the government squeeze on American business for decades.
To talk with a president who appears bent, with the energy of a honey badger, to roll back the stifling atmosphere — must be a very heartening experience. Yes, GE, along with just about everybody else and his aunt and uncle, has been neck deep in offshore manufacturing. This is where government taxes and regulation has frequently pushed business if it expected to survive.
“Everybody out of the pool” is not a party pooper if the pool was full of sewage in the first place.
Our biggest 'win' is Trump.
“Donald Trump”?
It’s “President” Donald Trump now and they’d do will not to forget that in their headlines.
Gee, you mean Trump is better versed than a community organizer who hates having a real job? How can that be?
Welch is as American as jam...
In fact, I was one of the GER (GE reject) crowd, but afterward had a chance to visit with the father of my daughter's college roommate. He described how he had headed up the team that cleared out GE's middle management by firing or psychological bludgeoning. When that was finished, Welch then economically fired his whole "clean-out" team. Completely sand-bagged them. Nice guy, eh?
Yeah, we called him "Neutron Jack"--the people go, the buildings stay.
I have no doubt but that Jack and The Donald saw things eye to eye.
I wouldn't call that a good sign.
Jack Welch = when GE was GE
I thought Welch was a never Trumper during the campaign.
May be wrong.
Glasses of jade, maybe.
Trump is insistent on loyalty in important matters, but he isn’t cruel. One has to suffer more than a few peccadilloes before getting the “you’re fired” from the real life Donald. The unreality apprentice show really was a caricature and did real life Donald no justice. Some people try to advance through cruelty because they are truly ignorant of any better way of doing things. God will forgive it, but God won’t excuse it. It brings its own shackles sooner or later.
Factory line workers can spot BS in a suit from a mile away. That’s why they recognize Trump really does care deep down
This current meeting reflects more on Donald than it does on Jack. Donald is trying to make nice even to his enemies. If they don’t respond in kind, then they see a sterner Donald. But there could be worse life strategies than to start with a charm offensive.
I think President Trump is trying to accomplish his (our) goals and is bringing in the best resources available whether or not he has clashed with them in the past.
A successful CEO knows that people with different experiences and views are needed on an executive team. If there is such a thing as an "enemy," it would be people who turn out to be dishonest or incompetent, and I'll bet he doesn't waste much time or energy on them (it's not productive).
Note that I'm talking about making the business go, a different thing than the need to quickly defend oneself from public personal attacks.
Whatever happened to that "lifetime employability" he liked to autofellate over?
And McKinsey & Co. -- the consulting firm riddled with ex-GE types -- was being paid by one of the Indian provinces/states/whatever they call them over there, to create jobs in India instead of the U.S.
I hope Trump really hits the regulations — they’ve killed small business, and are as salt on the earth, keeping new business down.
Redistribution of property OR liberty is evil. Taxing for redistribution is theft. Regulations are slavery.
But wait .... what about golf and vacation?
I worked at GE when Welch was there. It was a wonderful atmosphere! Stimulating and professional. Employees were encouraged to step out of their comfort zones and achieve more — and they/I did.
But Welch at this meeting? During the campaign, IIRC, he was seriously anti-Trump.
IIRC, one of Welch’s maxims is “Never pay retail.”
Trump has that one down :-)
Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden were to meet with 17 members of their transition economic advisory board. Members include former presidential Cabinet officials and executives from Xerox Corp., Time Warner Inc., Google Inc. and the Hyatt hotel company. Investor Warren Buffett was participating by telephone. Friday's press conference will be Obama's first public appearance since he trounced Republican John McCain in Tuesday's election to become America's first black president.President-elect Barack Obama was tackling the struggling U.S. economy as his first order of business, meeting Friday with leaders of business, government and academia before he holds his first press conference since the election.
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