Chip Somodevilla
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon has started talking with President Donald Trump after years of chilly relations between the two, according to a media report published on Thursday
Dimon visited the White House once in June and again last week, a sign of a more cordial relationship between the two powerful men, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Before the meetings this summer, the two hadn’t had any substantive conversations in years.
Last week, the two discussed the economy, trade and financial regulation, the people said. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also sat in on the meeting.
Dimon congratulated Trump on his trade deal with Japan, the people said. The shortage of affordable housing and the impact of post-2008 financial crisis regulations on homeownership was another topic.
They also discussed interest rates, a topic on which they have publicly disagreed. Trump has been adamant that the Federal Reserve should cut rates, and has threatened to remove Fed Chair Jerome Powell over the matter. Dimon has continued to support Powell and the Fed’s independence, noting that political attempts to push down rates can often achieve the opposite effect.
At last week’s meeting, the bank CEO told the president that interest rates could come down if the economy remains strong enough, a person familiar with the matter told the WSJ. That’s similar to what Bessent reportedly told Trump when he made a case for not firing the Fed chair.
The June meeting also included Vice President JD Vance, among other officials, the WSJ said. The article didn’t say what was discussed at that meeting.
The renewed discourse is in contrast with their rift during Trump’s first term. Dimon had quit from a council of leaders to advise the president after Trump’s comments about a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. He also spoke out against Trump’s challenge to the 2020 election results.
Meanwhile, in 2023, Trump said Dimon was “highly overrated” after the bank CEO urged business leaders to support Nikki Haley in the Republican primary.
Since Trump’s second term, Dimon has softened his rhetoric about the president, saying that Trump has made a number of right decisions and has supported some of his tariffs.
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