A group Donald Trump is reliant on could be the president's undoing, according to an expert who believes losing said support will cripple the president.
Scott Galloway, a marketing professor at NYU Stern School of Business, believes if technology company leaders turn on Trump then the president will have little power in office. He told the The Daily Beast about his plan to put pressure on Big Tech leaders like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos.
He said, "This is a coin-operated president. And these individuals have decided that their one and only job is shareholder value. And I empathize with that, I get it. There’s a ton of pressure; nobody wants to go first.
"But there needs to be collective action from 10, 50, a hundred, or the Fortune 500 to say, ‘This has just gone too far.’ But what is it about? It’s about one thing. It’s about shareholder value—full stop."
Galloway went on to note the funding for the ballroom as a way to appease Trump, though their actions will do nothing to help them with voters who can sway the efforts of companies with their wallet, the NYU professor believes.
He added, "They are saying, ‘Let’s wait this guy out, let’s kiss his a--, let’s give a million dollars to the East Wing, let’s go to the premiere, and let’s stay out of his crosshairs and make sure the good times keep going for us and our shareholders.
"These companies are highly sensitive to growth rates and projected growth rates. The easiest way to maybe save some money and have a really big impact and send a message to the markets, to Trump, and to other citizens that they can have an impact is to resist and unsubscribe.
"So I think if you can just take GDP down one or two points, or if Sam Altman or Andy Jassy or Tim Cook says, ‘This unsubscribe thing is getting a little bit uncomfortable for us and our shareholders,’ I think they’re going to find their backbone and maybe not show up for as many Melania premieres or decide that maybe we shouldn’t be as supportive of ICE as we have been, or maybe we’re gonna be a little bit more courageous with our views.
"I think you have to hit them where they feel it. And that’s in terms of shareholder value and a decline in subscriber growth. So what do I want from them? I want them to show some fidelity to the American values that made them so wealthy and built such great companies.”