Thread by @SRuhle

THREAD: Insights from 2 of the CEOs who met with President Biden yesterday...It was described as a very serious and detailed meeting, where a wide range of topics were discussed.

The room agreed that tackling the health crisis is paramount, but the economic crisis remains complicated and problematic...fearing the worsening “K” recovery [where growing income inequality, rich richer, poor poorer] vs. a “V” recovery (snap back)

Biden started with the vaccine rollout and the room concurred that the number one thing we need is to get the vaccine into America’s arms. Biden also covered education, skills gap, infrastructure, healthcare with no specific timeline.

He went into great detail on needing to improve the education system & skills training, even more than any temporary fix of raising wages.

The Build Back Agenda was clearly a very big focus, & once the vaccine rollout is further underway, expect infrastructure to get on agenda.

This person described the meeting as being well-received by those attending. The expectation was it would be around 30 minutes, but instead, lasted for about an hour and half.

Biden was described as thoughtful and detailed in comparison to meetings with Obama which felt more like a lecture or with Trump that didn’t cover substance. It felt like a constructive meeting.

GAP’s CEO Sonia Syngal spoke first and explained that 60% of retail jobs held by women and minorities and that needs to be addressed

Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon talked about the vaccine rollout, appreciated Biden’s efforts and Biden thanked Walmart for theirs. The CEO talked about the importance of increasing wages.

Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison talked about the large number of people it has employed this year. It is one of the “winners” because of the pandemic (thanks to home improvements).

JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon said once we're past the health crisis, we need structural reforms because America's lack of good policy for 20 yrs keeps hurting the poorest people. The lack of good policy-making led to failures in infrastructure, immigration, education & healthcare.

Yellen talked about the economy and wages. Harris asked some questions, mostly about jobs as well as stock “buy backs” (where companies use extra cash to buy their stock and push up the price) and if this is the best use of funds.

Biden reassured this one attendee that even if they disagree or the administration raises different taxes, this source was still happy to have a moral, balanced person in the White House, no matter what they do to their company.

STATEMENT: “We had a constructive and detailed conversation that covered a lot of ground – the urgent struggles of so many Americans, a path to a sustainable and equitable economic recovery, and the future of American competitiveness..." (1/2)

CONT'D: I appreciated the opportunity to discuss these serious issues today, and look forward to working with Republicans and Democrats to build an economy that is stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive.”

-Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co.