The New York Times published an editorial Saturday warning “American business leaders cannot afford to stand passive and silent” and recommending they “defend American democracy by publicly opposing” former President Donald Trump’s candidacy.

“Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, have sketched out versions of their parties’ traditional positions on issues like taxation, trade and regulation that are well within the give-and-take of politics. In this election, however, stability itself is also at stake,” the editorial board wrote.

“Mr. Trump denies the legitimacy of elections, defies constitutional limits on presidential power and boasts of plans to punish his enemies. And in these attacks on America’s democracy, he is also attacking the foundations of American prosperity,” the editorial read.

The Times then called out business leaders who support the former president.

“Some prominent corporate leaders — including Elon Musk, a founder of Tesla; the investors David Sacks and Bill Ackman; and the financier Stephen Schwarzman — have been supportive of Mr. Trump’s candidacy. Beyond pure cynicism, it’s nearly impossible to understand why,” the editorial read.

Noting that “business leaders … may be skeptical of Ms. Harris’ policies, uneasy because they don’t feel they know enough about how she would govern or worried that she may not be open to hearing their concerns,” the editorial board warned they should be “afraid of the consequences” should Trump win.

Noting Trump “again refused to commit to accepting the results of the 2024 election,” the board wrote, “That comes on the heels of remarks in which he declared that he regards his political opponents as an ‘enemy from within’ and that he would consider deploying the military against them merely for opposing his bid for the presidency.”

While the former president “may seem like a novelty in American politics,” the board wrote, Trump “is a familiar type.”

“[P]opulists often win elections by promising pro-business policies that will unleash economic growth. Once in office, however, they don’t just fiddle with the knobs; they break the machinery,” the editorial read.

“They undermine economic stability by attacking and delegitimizing people and institutions, inside or outside the government, who might challenge or correct bad economic decisions,” the board wrote, likening Trump to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The board quoted a recent Harvard Business Review article, “Populists undermine the operating environment capitalism depends on — most notably, free competition and a predictable rule of law,” and called out Trump’s “attacks on the integrity of federal data and on government experts,” calling them “examples of the ways in which he already pursues these strategies.”

“Business leaders often say they hate uncertainty about taxes and regulation even more than they hate taxes and regulation. Mr. Trump is the personification of uncertainty,” the board wrote, noting “a populist’s favor is capricious; there’s no way to predict who might end up on a Trump enemies list or why.”

“Even by a traditional policy scorecard, Mr. Trump would do damage to American business,” the board wrote, calling out the former president’s plans for tariffs and mass deportations, his desire to advise the Federal Reserve, and his proposed tax cuts, saying they would increase the federal debt.

The board concluded by asking if the former president “ever takes the long view” or “ever put the American public interest first,” writing that Trump “is not running as a champion of business” but as a “tribune of populist grievance” and calling on all Americans to “publicly oppose his candidacy.”

© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.