‘Profound disappointment in my fellow Americans’: A text thread with 11 local business leaders after Trump’s win – The Boston Globe

Scott Kirsner: Does this feel like a 2016 flashback to everyone? Different, because Trump is so much more of a known quantity now?

Ellen Rubin, tech entrepreneur: [In] 2016 it was a huge shock. I was on a plane to San Francisco, and you could hear swearing up and down the plane as the results came in. Last night had more of a sense of dread in advance.

Jana Eggers, tech entrepreneur: There was a sense before that he would have people around him that would support the democracy. That they would guide the government for the country. He fired those people. And has said he will only hire loyalists. This is different. We know more and so does he.

Leah Ellis, climate-tech entrepreneur: I’m a dual citizen who grew up in Canada… Americans are a fine people, and I can’t get past the fact they choose to be represented by someone so deceitful and uncouth. I struggle to understand the policies and principles that make Trump attractive.

Jules Pieri, tech entrepreneur: Last time, I gave his voters more benefit of the doubt because his hyperbole was hard to believe and those voters just wanted change. Now, we know better. Trump means exactly what he says. His voters signed up for hate and chaos alongside whatever substantive issues they favor. I could deny it last time. Now it is undeniable.

Ellis: I don’t agree with this. I refuse to believe that millions of Americans signed up for hate and chaos. There has to be something else (which I don’t understand) that makes him appealing.

Paul Deninger, venture capitalist and board member: I want to state upfront that I voted for Hillary [Clinton], Joe [Biden], and Kamala [Harris]. Anyone but Trump… It’s time for reflection. If this is so shocking to you/us what does that say about us? This can’t be veiled in “well, he didn’t win the popular vote.” He did.

Kirsner: Do you see any silver linings to the Trump victory? Bitcoin just hit an all-time high, and stock futures, the dollar, and bond yields are up this morning.

Deninger: If [Republicans] keep control of the House, we will not have any real form of gridlock for the first time in a long time. Personally, I don’t think that’s good news, and not just because of who is in charge. That’s rarely ever a good thing.

Başak Özer, tech entrepreneur: Democracies are fragile. When a populist is elected for a second time, it’s different. Leads to erosion of societal values as well. We’ve seen the slippery slope in other countries, in Europe and elsewhere. Unfortunately, I don’t see silver linings.

Deninger: Scott, if you retract the words “silver lining,” you may get better answers :-). How about things that may be OK…

Trump says he wants to revive the industrial base. If that happens, it would be an unmitigated good.

He is very anti-China: tariffs, revoking “most favored nation” status, encouraging a shift in supply chains. We are already shifting supply chains on every board I am on, but getting tough on China economically is also a positive. American consumers may learn to hate tariffs on the stuff they buy cheap now. We shall see.

His support of near-earth orbit manufacturing could spur innovations like the space program did here on “[Route] 128″ in the good old days.

And say what we want about [Trump advisor Elon] Musk’s politics and personality — he is an innovator.

Ian Bowles, energy investor and former Massachusetts Secretary of Energy: I can just add that the realm where I focus, climate and climate tech, is one where the states have a more dominant role than the federal government… [A focus on lowering greenhouse gases] has become mainstream and won’t change quickly.

Paul English, tech entrepreneur and philanthropist: I don’t believe people who say they voted for Trump for the economy. His record is terrible. I don’t like to be cynical, but I think most voted for him since they (sometimes secretly) share one or more of his negative traits… But I’m going to pull up my bootstraps and move forward with positivity. For me, it means rally around New England for the next four years. We live in an amazing set of states. Let’s focus on that identity and keep working to improve ourselves.

Deninger: …Can we make part of the “rally around New England” message listening to our rural New Englanders who voted for the other guy?

Kirsner: For the climate folks, Trump really does not seem interested in supporting new technologies. How does that impact all the climate startups we have that are trying to make their way to market?

Deninger: True, but a lot of progress has been made in the four years he was out of office. That may be hard to unwind. And with Musk as his new BFF who put up huge money when he needed it most, I think that position has the potential to shift, at least somewhat.

Bowles: Utilities, regulated by states, are more important in climate tech than the federal government, which is only episodically relevant.

Kirsner: So taking it from you and Paul that you don’t see any bubble bursting in the climate-tech sector as the result of Trump II?

Bowles: I would not want to say no concerns. Certain segments like offshore wind require a federal permitting partner and may not have one. But the vast majority of climate tech startups are more influenced by state regulated utilities than the federal government.

Deninger: Agree with Ian. Also, he might look to unwind some of the Inflation Reduction Act, but that horse is mostly out of the barn. … I just checked my individual stock portfolio, [and] everything [is] up, except anything to do with electrification.

Ellis: I worry that ignoring climate change will lead to intensifying drought, famine, war, etc. Sadly, we’re not moving fast enough to mitigate the worst effects. I believe it’s government’s role to set policies that keep our society strong in the long-term, while leaving near-term optimization to the invisible hand of capitalism. …Trump’s administration will slow things down, but it was already going too slow. The silver lining is that certain states are investing in innovation, creating amazing made-in-America technologies that will one day proliferate around the world. The private sector will have to lean in to drive up [the] volume [and] drive down cost for these new technologies.

Kirsner: On life sciences… How do you predict a second Trump term, and potentially Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. involved in health oversight and the Food & Drug Administration, impacts the life sciences business here and elsewhere? Trump has said that he wants to lower drug prices, but I think the campaign was pretty light on specifics there.

Michael Gilman, biotech entrepreneur: I am — as a parent and grandparent, rather than a life science executive — considerably more concerned about public health issues under a second Trump administration. The first one did not provide a sterling precedent.

Daphne Zohar, biotech entrepreneur: It’s not yet clear what role RFK would have in the new administration. Most likely an advisor role, rather than a cabinet post. I hope and believe that the new administration will be thoughtful about how to support small biotech businesses who create jobs and fuel the economy…

Kirsner: Trump seems hostile to big tech/social platforms, but he could also choose a Federal Trade Commission chief who is looser on allowing big mergers. What would you expect there?

Pieri: The Democrats were asleep at the wheel for 20 years regarding big tech, so I would actually allow space for Trump to do a better job in that vein.

Deninger: I am NOT a fan of social media. It is truly destructive and has helped fuel the rise of divisiveness like Trump. That would be a better place to get tough, but Truth Social gives Trump one billion reasons to do nothing.

Pieri: …I am a little worried that this conversation about “moving on” and finding the bright spots where Trump could be good for business might be viewed as parallel to the argument that slavery was good for business. On a pure economic account, that profitable institution was the bedrock of the US. But the price was very high to all of us, even today. With a Trump administration, you have to ignore so much current and future human cost and planetary damage to allow him to pursue his policies that were already proven to benefit the few over the many.

Gilman: Agree with Jules. I’m trying to apply rational thought to my supposed area of domain expertise. But, honestly, the life science industry will be fine. The rest of our society, and our democracy, and how we treat [each] other — I fear that’s irrevocably damaged. I’m more in my parent/grandparent space than in my business space at the moment.

Steve Kaufer, tech entrepreneur: I’ve been quiet so far, wallowing in my profound disappointment in my fellow Americans. Having said that, I’m trying to bucket my thoughts into what is four-years-temporary (chaos, tariffs, maybe with a recession or inflation); rhetoric and actions against various minorities and immigrants; deregulation (good and bad); and all the rest I hate about him… versus long-term consequences. In my humble opinion, the real and lasting damage will likely be generational (debt and climate change) and foreign affairs (cutting aid to Ukraine, Putin emboldened). These are very hard to undo.

And the scary wildcard is: if China invades Taiwan, would Trump go nuclear?

Kirsner: So just to try to get some closure here … aside from considering the prospect of nuclear war, how do you plan to process and move forward over the next couple months?

Eggers: Focus on our local area(s). We have great resources and support there. Local and state governments can and do have impact. …[And] make sure to check on, support, [and] protect marginalized/targeted communities.

Gilman: My own view is to focus on the things you can control. Keep your organizations steady and on track. The reason we start companies and do what we do professionally is because we fundamentally believe that [what] we do matters and will make a difference in people’s lives. So keep on keeping on.

Scott Kirsner can be reached at kirsner@pobox.com. Follow him @ScottKirsner.