Donald Trump is seizing on growing objections among Republicans to investments based on environmental, social and governance principles, with a campaign video posted Friday opposing so-called ESG strategies.
(Bloomberg) — Donald Trump is seizing on growing objections among Republicans to investments based on environmental, social and governance principles, with a campaign video posted Friday opposing so-called ESG strategies.
The former president, who’s making his third White House run, complained in the video about Wall Street and employers using “radical-left garbage” when investing retirement accounts. He vowed to sign an executive order, if he returns to office, “to support a law to keep politics away from Americans’ retirement accounts forever.”
During the final months of his presidency, Trump pushed to ban private-sector workplace retirement plans from considering ESG principles when selecting or monitoring investments.
So-called ESG strategies are becoming an issue as the 2024 Republican presidential race takes shape, with the latest entrant, Ohio biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, helping lead the crusade against ESG investing.
Trump’s expected top rival for the nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, has also carved out a lane for himself with outspoken opposition to ESG, and other potential candidates including former Vice President Mike Pence have also opposed it.
DeSantis has built a national brand on opposition to ESG investment policies and companies taking stands on so-called “woke” issues. He’s singled out PayPal Holdings Inc. in his battle against ESG and punished Walt Disney Co., which operates its Walt Disney World theme park near Orlando, after it criticized a law limiting school instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation.
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