JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon is condemned for groveling to China
Critics are condemning JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon for apologizing to over a joke he made about the country’s communist regime, charging that the billionaire businessman is allowing China to censor Americans.
Dimon issued two groveling apologies Wednesday, just one day after saying his firm would outlast China’s Communist regime.
Speaking at Boston College on Tuesday, Dimon quipped: ‘I was just in and I made a joke that the Communist Party is celebrating its hundredth year. So is JP Morgan. I’d make a bet we last longer.’
‘I can’t say that in China. They probably are listening anyway,’ the 65-year-old banker added.
But in a sign that even the King of Wall Street is wary of Beijing, he has since apologized – twice.
His public expressions of remorse were concerning to some, including essayist Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
‘Apologies driven by fear (or economic interest) are not apologies, but genuine expressions of submission,’ Taleb tweeted.
Speech: JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon (pictured in Paris in June) has apologized twice for the remarks he made about China at the Boston College Chief Executives Club
The millionaire former option trader later added: ‘Nice to wake up to find out that I am freer, less dependent, and though not as rich, have much, much more solid f*** you money than Jamie Dimon. Slavery does not decrease with wealth.’
Journalist Matthew Yglesias also shared concern about the optics of the apologies.
‘The extent to which US-China economic integration is exporting Chinese speech norms to America is a big problem that nobody is working on,’ Yglesias tweeted.
Added another Twitter user: ‘W.O.W. Jamie Dimon NEVER walks back his comments…China has much more power and control over the US than anyone could ever have imagined!’
Some thought leaders expressed their dismay over the apology on Twitter, with essayist Nassim Nicholas Taleb saying: ‘Apologies driven by fear (or economic interest) are not apologies, but genuine expressions of submission
During his first apology, Dimon said: ‘I regret and should not have made that comment. I was trying to emphasize the strength and longevity of our company.’
Hours later, he added: ‘I truly regret my recent comment because it’s never right to joke about or denigrate any group of people, whether it’s a country, its leadership, or any part of a society and culture.
‘Speaking in that way can take away from constructive and thoughtful dialogue in society, which is needed now more than ever.’
Other social media expressed shock over Dimon’s uncharacteristic apology
Speaking at Boston College on Tuesday (pictured), Dimon quipped: ‘I was just in Hong Kong and I made a joke that the Communist Party is celebrating its hundredth year. So is JP Morgan. I’d make a bet we last longer’
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