Top US business groups have been communicating and planning for how to respond if Trump continues to question the election results, according to two people who are taking part in the discussions.
Representatives from the CEO lobbying group Business Roundtable, the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, which count the country’s largest companies among their members, have met on conference calls in the weeks leading up to the election, said the people.
And the calls and conversations haven’t stopped, the people said.
These business leaders are aware that they can impact the peaceful transition of power but are focused on choosing the right time to engage, said one of the people who requested anonymity because the conversations and calls are private and in some cases, the meeting invites are explicitly labeled as “off the record.”
“If you speak too early, it’s empty,” the person said, who suggested that business leaders, labor, clergy and women can defend democracy against authoritarianism.
Several organization have issued statements in recent days.
Last night, after the President’s press conference, the largest manufacturing association urged “faith in our institutions.”
“Americans are hard at work counting the ballots and tallying the votes. That is our democratic process, and it has served us well throughout our history. Manufacturers have faith in our institutions, and all valid ballots must be counted,” the National Association of Manufacturers said in a statement late Thursday.
Also, on Election Day, several groups issued a joint statement calling for all votes to be counted. The group’s members included US Chamber’s CEO Thomas Donahue, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, National Association of Evangelicals President Walter Kim and National African American Clergy Network Co-Convener Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner.
They issued their statement early on Election Day to avoid any perception they were choosing a side if results moved against Trump, according to one of the people who advised on the timing of the statement.
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