U.S. President Donald Trump held talks at the White House with chief executives of major U.S. companies on Friday (February 03) as the business community finds itself increasingly split over how to respond to his policies, especially a travel ban announced last weekend.
Elon Musk of Tesla, Mary Barra of General Motors, Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo, Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase were among chief executives on a business advisory panel selected by Trump in December who attended the meeting.
Trump previously met with executives from the U.S. pharmaceutical and auto industries as part of a push to step up U.S. job creation.
Business leaders have been divided in their approach on taxes and immigration and who seek to work with a president who uses his platform to attack companies that vex him, such as threatening penalties for manufacturing outside the United States.
Musk said on Thursday he would raise objections during the meeting to a week-old executive order halting travel to the United States for people from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Tech companies, which have broad concerns about Trump’s immigration plans, raised the sharpest outcry at the travel ban.
The White House said in a statement on Thursday evening that did not mention Uber that Trump “understands the importance of an open dialogue with fellow business leaders to discuss how to best make our nation’s economy stronger.”
Executives from Ford Motor Co also criticized the ban, but others, including General Motors and JPMorgan Chase have not taken a position.
(REUTERS)