Blackstone chairman, CEO, and co-founder Steve Schwarzman urged President Donald Trump to “move on” after the 2020 election and transfer power to former Vice President Joe Biden.
“[T]he outcome is very certain today, and the country should move on,” Schwarzman (pictured) said about the 2020 election in a statement to Axios.
Schwarzman is Trump’s biggest ally on Wall Street, he appeared publicly with the president and advised him on economic issues. He also donated $3 million to a Super PAC in support of Trump’s re-election.
It’s a shift for Schwarzman, who initially defended the president’s right to contest the results in an emergency Zoom meeting of prominent executives the three days after the election.
His comments upset some of the executives on the call and details were subsequently leaked to the Financial Times.
Schwarzman defended his comments, arguing he was trying to the “voice of reason” and defending Trump’s actions as in the “national interest” of having the election resolved.
But Schwarzman clearly appeared ready to move on in his comments on Monday.
“I supported President Trump and the strong economic path he built,” he wrote. “Like many in the business community, I am ready to help President-elect Biden and his team as they confront the significant challenges of rebuilding our post-COVID economy.”