Virgin Atlantic founder Richard Branson is clearly unhappy with President Donald Trump – and he thinks that a different sort of business leader, such as former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, would have been much better for America.
But the way Branson sees it, even Bloomberg may have a problem now.
“There is a danger that Trump will have blown it for any business person to ever follow into the White House,” Branson told GeekWire today during an exclusive interview in Seattle. “I hope not, because I think there are lots of extraordinarily good entrepreneurial types of business people out there, both male and female, who would make very good presidents.”
Branson, a fiercely proud British citizen, has no direct say in the American political process. But that hasn’t stopped him from expressing his opinion about Trump, and how the new administration could affect the issues that Branson holds near and dear to his heart.
He had sharp criticism for the president earlier this week in New Zealand, calling him “rather an embarrassment for the world,” and returned to the subject during today’s VIP forum on entrepreneurship.
The Pioneer Square event was scheduled to coincide with Virgin Atlantic’s start of nonstop air service between Seattle and London.
“I understand why a lot of Americans want to get out of America right now,” Branson joked, “but strangely, there are still a few Londoners who actually like coming this way.”
The entrepreneur extraordinaire was more serious during GeekWire’s interview, which took place on the same day that Trump signed an executive order to start reversing the Obama administration’s climate policies.
“As a citizen of the world, I am just horribly sad to see the leader of the greatest country in the world trying to bring in legislation to set back the efforts of the world on climate change, just at the time when 190 nations have pledged to go carbon-neutral by 2050,” Branson said.
He also complained about Trump’s restrictions on immigration as well as his campaign against the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
Branson said the Trump administration was “trying to push America backwards, rather than trying to make universal health care really work well in America, and almost gloatingly hoping that it falls apart instead of getting out there and fixing it.”
So what’s Branson’s prescription? He’s taking on challenges such as climate change and economic development with an in-house charity called Virgin Unite, as well as his commitment to the Giving Pledge and collaboration with other business leaders on campaigns such as the Breakthrough Energy Coalition.
“I think we’ve all got to just work together,” he said. “Where government is letting us down, entrepreneurs must step in and use their financial resources to fill in the gaps – and campaign for leaders with a real heart.”
Leaders like … who? For once, Branson took the diplomatic route, and declined to make an endorsement.
