The leaders of Wall Street’s most powerful firms are speaking out to condemn the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally over the weekend.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told employees Sunday that he and his management team were “deeply saddened by the political violence” and attempt on Trump’s life. The shooting killed one bystander and injured two more.
“We must all stand firmly together against any acts of hate, intimidation or violence that seek to undermine our democracy or inflict harm,” Dimon said in the memo. “It is only through constructive dialogue that we can tackle our nation’s toughest challenges.”
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon addressed the matter at the start of an earnings call Monday morning, calling the attempted assassination a “horrible act of violence.”
“We are grateful that he is safe and also want to extend my sincere condolences to the families of those who were tragically killed and severely injured,” Solomon said. “It is a sad moment for our country. There’s no place in our politics for violence.”
The shooting on Saturday shocked a nation gearing up for a contentious November election. Wall Street firms don’t officially endorse political candidates since they have to deal with both Republican and Democrat officials, though their executives and employees often donate to campaigns.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” Monday that the weekend events were “a tragedy.”
“It is a statement of America today, though. We need to create hope. All of us have a responsibility, every political candidate, every leader, every pastor, minister, rabbi, we all have a responsibility of bringing our community together to bring hope,” Fink said.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, said Sunday in an email that it ran an advertisement in 2022 in which the accused shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, appears briefly in the background along with other students of Bethel Park High School.
“We will make all video footage available to the appropriate authorities, and we have removed the video from circulation out of respect for the victims,” BlackRock said in a statement.
“As our leadership team communicated to colleagues last night, BlackRock strongly condemns political violence of any kind and will do our part to promote civility and unity in the country,” the firm said.
— CNBC’s Jim Forkin contributed to this report.
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