CEOs are afraid to criticize Trump in public, Carlyle chair says

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President Donald Trump’s aggressive response to public criticism is an “effective tool” for silencing those business leaders who disagree with his economic policies, Carlyle Co-Chairman David Rubenstein said at the World Economy Summit in April. Trump’s tariffs, especially his massive levies on imports from China, have rattled many executives, Rubenstein said. “I’m amazed in the last two weeks how many business leaders are sounding alarms who I speak to privately and who won’t say a word,” Rubenstein told Stephanie Ruhle. “The way that this president operates is that if he disagrees with you, he will call you out in a very visible way. And people don’t like to be called out and criticized in public. It’s a very effective technique that has worked to quiet people.”