Billionaire Schwarzman: Dimon's profanity-laced DC rant was harsh but few Americans would disagree
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon 's recent scathing words about the federal government were harsh but few Americans like the political gridlock, Steve Schwarzman , the billionaire co-founder and CEO of the Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX), told CNBC on Tuesday.
Washington needs to do more to improve the way it functions because "very few Americans" are proud of the political system, Schwarzman said on "Fast Money Halftime Report." Most people don't think the U.S. is "batting 100 out of 100," he added.
Last week, the JPMorgan chief expressed frustration about the process. "It's almost an embarrassment being an American citizen traveling around the world and listening to the stupid s--- we have to deal with in this country," Dimon said in response to an analyst question on Friday's earnings call.
"I say things differently than Jamie might in terms of language choice," Schwarzman said, but he acknowledged the sentiment.
On health care , Schwarzman said it'll be very difficult for Senate Republicans to change. Once Americans are given certain entitlements, it's difficult to take them away, he explained.
Instead, he said he's much more excited about the Trump administration's tax reform proposal. "That is something that is achievable on some basis," he said. "In terms of economic issues, I think those things are certainly possible."
Most people think President Donald Trump 's more pro-business policies will be a "first quarter of 2018-type of issue and I haven't changed on that," Schwarzman said.
Regarding the stock market , Schwarzman said he thinks it is "pretty fully valued." The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX (STOXX: .VIX), viewed as Wall Street's fear gauge, has been at record lows, he pointed out, warning when people think that's going to last forever that's when change happens.
Schwarzman spoke with CNBC during a break at a Washington, D.C., summit with Chinese companies. The Blackstone chief said he joined Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Executive Chairman Jack Ma to bring leaders of U.S. and Chinese companies together in hopes of side-stepping government red tape to see if there are ways to work together to help both economies.
Schwarzman has Trump's ear as chairman of the president's Strategic and Policy Forum, a group of influential American CEOs who meet periodically to give Trump advice.
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