Why Some Business Leaders Prefer Kamala Harris

Imagine being a business leader, sitting in your office, looking at the two presidential candidates. One is former President Donald Trump, known for chaos and fear. The other is Vice President Kamala Harris, who promises order and innovation. Which one would you back? For some prominent business leaders, the choice was clear – they chose Kamala Harris. A group of these leaders recently launched a campaign to show why they believe Harris is the best candidate for business. They created a website filled with testimonials from small business owners and successful entrepreneurs. Among them are Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, and Box CEO Aaron Levine. Former American Express CEO Ken Chenault and former Merck CEO Ken Frazier also lent their support with video clips. "Kamala Harris brings order and innovation," says Chenault in his testimonial. "Donald Trump brings chaos and fear. We need someone who will bring us hope, and that is Kamala Harris." Hastings agrees, adding that he thinks Harris could be even better for business than the current administration.

But why choose Harris over her own party's former leader, President Joe Biden? Some Democratic donors thought Biden wasn’t up to the task after a poor debate performance against Trump. They called on him to step down, and when he did, some of these same donors backed Harris with their wallets. The campaign is run by the Republican Accountability PAC, a progressive group that has already received millions from Hoffman alone. Hastings reportedly donated $7 million after Biden dropped out. But money isn’t the only thing they're giving – Hoffman is also hosting a podcast where business leaders can discuss their support for Harris. In one episode, Hoffman talks about CEOs who feel strongly that Harris is better for business but are hesitant to speak up because of their current roles. "They’re kind of like, 'Hey, I got a bunch of employees, I got shareholders, I got customers,'" he explains. Future episodes will feature more business leaders sharing their views.

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