A person described as a "top banker" by the Financial Times said the success of President-elect Donald Trump has freed them to spout slurs without fear of repercussions.
“I feel liberated,” the banker told the paper. “We can say ‘r----d’ and ‘p---y’ without the fear of getting canceled... it’s a new dawn.”
The quote is part of a broader report about the way that more of corporate America under Trump's second administration now feels unshackled by prior restraints and no longer feels the need to even make performative gestures toward the public good.
Corporations across the country have been slashing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives ahead of Trump's second term and have also been more reluctant to celebrate LGBTQ employees out of fear of right-wing boycotts.
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Even so, some in corporate America tell the Financial Times that they are embracing the opportunity Trump is giving them to be their true selves.
“Most of us don’t have to kiss a-- because, like Trump, we love America and capitalism,” said another Wall Streeter quoted by the Financial Times.
Trier Bryant, a former DEI executive at Goldman Sachs and Twitter who is now the chief executive of consulting firm Pathfinder, said that Americans should take note of which companies are rushing to ditch their diversity initiatives.
“Maya Angelou said, ‘When people show you who they are, believe them.’ When companies show you who they are, believe them as well,” she told the Financial Times.