Nearly 90 corporate executives, including one of Rupert Murdoch's sons, sign letter endorsing Harris

It appears that lots of current and former top executives from across corporate America are not buying Donald Trump’s attempts to denigrate his Democratic opponent as “Comrade Kamala.”

Actually, Trump is far more deserving of being called “Comrade Donald” because of his efforts to Make Russia Great Again. It’s no wonder that  ex-KGB agent Vladimir Putin’s operatives allegedly secretly funded pro-Trump influencers to the tune of  $10 million.

So it’s noteworthy that CNBC, a cable TV business channel, was the first to report Monday that 88 corporate leaders have signed a letter endorsing Kamala Harris’ election as president of the United States. CNBC published the full text of the letter along with the list of its signatories.

The letter itself is relatively short. After endorsing Harris, it reads: 

Her election is the best way to support the continued strength, security, and reliability of our democracy and economy. With Kamala Harris in the White House, the business community can be confident that it will have a President who wants American industries to thrive. As a partner to President Biden, Vice President Harris has a strong record of advancing actions to spur business investment in the United States and ensure American businesses can compete and win in the global market. She will continue to advance fair and predictable policies that support the rule of law, stability, and a sound business environment, and she will strive to give every American the opportunity to pursue the American dream.

The CNBC report discussed the strategic importance of the letter, particularly its timing just days before the first scheduled debate between Harris and Trump on ABC. It is intended to showcases business support for the Harris-Walz ticket.

CNBC wrote:

The reason for the long list and the short letter is because the letter itself was not written to convince the general public to vote for Harris.

Instead, its purpose is to serve as a well-timed political show of force for Harris, who is locked in a very tight race, with the first presidential debate just four days away.

Both Harris and Trump have spent the past week rolling out their dueling economic visions, ahead of the Sept. 10 debate, hosted by ABC.

Reuters reported that the signers included the chief executives of Yelp and Chobani as well as the former CEOs of PepsiCo, Ford Motor Co and Yahoo!.

The signatories also included James Murdoch, one of Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch’s sons. who is he former CEO of 21st Century Fox. James Murdoch departed from the family business in 2019 because was uncomfortable with “disinformation” spread by Fox News and founded a private equity firm Lupus Systems that invests in technology and media industries, and companies focused on environmental sustainability, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region

Deadline wrote that James Murdoch hosted President Joe Biden at his home in 2022 for a fundraiser for midterm candidates, and backed Biden’s campaign in 2020.

Among the others backing Harris in the letter were billionaire Mark Cuban; NBA legend-turned-business entrepreneur   Earvin "Magic" Johnson; Laurene Powell Jobs, head of the Emerson Collective and widow of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, and former American Express CEO Ken Chenault, who spoke at the Democratic National Convention.

CNBC reported that Harris recently outlined proposals to support small businesses that feature a plan to increase a tax deduction for startup expenses by 10 times, up to $50,000. She also has proposed lifting the top capital gains tax rate to 28% for people making more than $1 million a year. That is higher than the  current 20% rate, but lower than the 39.6% level that President Joe Biden has proposed, with Harris declaring that her goal is to encourage more private sector investment.

Trump has proposed cutting the corporate tax rate even further from 21% to 15% for companies that make their products in the United States.

Unlike Trump, Harris has also been endorsed by most major labor unions because her economic plain would aim to cut taxes for most Americans, fight “price gouging” by food producers and supermarket chains, increase affordable housing, and raise child tax credits.

And significantly, Goldman Sachs said in a note last week that U.S. economic growth would likely be higher under a Harris administration that if Trump regains the White House.

Reuters reported:

U.S. economic growth would likely get the biggest boost in the coming two years from the Democrats, headed by Kamala Harris, winning the White House and Congress in this November's elections, according to Goldman Sachs.

Under a Republican sweep, or even with a divided government led by Donald Trump, economic output would take a hit next year, mostly from increased tariffs on imports and tighter immigration policies, Goldman said in a note late on Tuesday.

Job growth under a Democrat government would also likely be stronger than under the Republicans, Goldman said.