Business leaders and trade groups on Wednesday called for an end to violence in Washington, DC and a peaceful transfer of power after supporters of President Trump stormed the Capitol, where lawmakers met to certify the election of the College of Electoral of President-elect Joe Biden.
Reactions came in a week of statements and meetings involving corporate executives who have publicly urged a smooth transfer of power, while Trump and others have discussed his electoral defeat.
Chief executives, including the leaders of Google and Bank of America Corp. of Alphabet Inc., condemned the violence.
“The insurgency that followed the president’s statements today is appalling and is an affront to the democratic values we cherish as Americans,” said Stephen Schwarzman, executive director of Blackstone Group Inc. Schwarzman, one of Trump’s most loyal allies on Wall Street and a major Republican fundraiser who acknowledged in November that Trump lost the election, added, “There must be a peaceful transition of power.”
James Dimon, president and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., the country’s largest bank, said violence does not represent the U.S. “Our elected leaders have a responsibility to call for an end to violence, accept the results, and “As our democracy has done for hundreds of years, we support the peaceful transition of power,” Dimon said in a statement.