JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon drew the ire of President Donald Trump Thursday morning after Dimon suggested he could beat Trump in a hypothetical 2020 presidential bid.
President Trump hits back at JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, belittling the banking chief as a "nervous mess" afte… https://t.co/aj4jClxsFF— NBC News (@NBC News) 1536841682.0
Dimon was speaking at an event at his company's Manhattan headquarters on Wednesday, where he said he was "smarter" than Trump and could easily defeat him.
"I think I could beat Trump," Dimon said. "Because I'm as tough as he is, I'm smarter than he is."
Dimon hinted that he was tougher than the president, saying that Trump "could punch me all he wants, it wouldn't work with me. I'd fight right back."
The 62-year-old CEO and megadonor to the Democratic Party also took a swipe at Trump's wealth: "And by the way, this wealthy New Yorker actually earned his money," Dimon said. "It wasn't a gift from Daddy," referring to the millions of dollars Trump inherited from his real estate developer father Fred.
Dimon quickly walked back his comments, however, and enthusiastically denied any intention of running for president.
"I should not have said it. I'm not running for President," he said. "Proves I wouldn't make a good politician. I get frustrated because I want all sides to come together to help solve big problems."
In his first tweet of the day on Thursday, Trump fired back at Dimon as only Trump can, chiding Dimon as "a poor public speaker" and "nervous mess."
"The problem with banker Jamie Dimon running for President is that he doesn’t have the aptitude or “smarts” & is a poor public speaker & nervous mess - otherwise he is wonderful," Trump said in a pre-dawn tweet. "I’ve made a lot of bankers, and others, look much smarter than they are with my great economic policy!"
The problem with banker Jamie Dimon running for President is that he doesn’t have the aptitude or “smarts” & is a p… https://t.co/axRuyoyBp2— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1536837720.0
Twitter jumped to Dimon's defense, with many agreeing that he is probably smarter than Trump.
@NBCNews I am quite sure that Dimon is a lot smarter than Trump!— lucielocket51 🇦🇺 🇺🇸🇬🇧🇨🇦 (@lucielocket51 🇦🇺 🇺🇸🇬🇧🇨🇦) 1536848144.0
@NBCNews I’m not a fan of Dimon, but I do think he is a tad smarter than Trump— Izzabella (@Izzabella) 1536841817.0
@HorsnellLucie @NBCNews Agreed, he's smarter! Whether #Dimon would make a good President is an entirely different q… https://t.co/cnhrz7dwmz— KJ (@KJ) 1536849157.0
@NBCNews Trump has gone on bankruptcy dozens of times, he claims to be a billionaire and he's not. That's one of th… https://t.co/LSWcoeGEiW— Eva C (@Eva C) 1536842094.0
Trump himself wasn't shown much mercy.
Trump's tweets are becoming increasingly erratic - he's tweeted over 30 times in the last two days.
@thejtlewis @realDonaldTrump The more I see of this guys tweets I truly believe he has some serious mental issues. https://t.co/m7El3Uh6aA— Randy Perry ⛏️👞🎳 (@Randy Perry ⛏️👞🎳) 1536845403.0
And if you read the transcripts from his rallies, you'll see Trump rarely speaks in complete sentences.
@realDonaldTrump "Aptitude, poor public speaker, nervous mess and doesn't have the smarts" .. Hilarious, you just described YOURSELF.— Prettywig 👩⚕️🇵🇷🤓🌊💉 (@Prettywig 👩⚕️🇵🇷🤓🌊💉) 1536838471.0
@realDonaldTrump Hahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahaahahah Trump calling someone else a poor public speak… https://t.co/KJGBk21WM8— Wily, Secret-Society Sister and Resister 🌊 (@Wily, Secret-Society Sister and Resister 🌊) 1536845360.0
@realDonaldTrump Jamie Dimon is without question smarter than you. Although as you've proven in you presidency it o… https://t.co/8ioWaVXC9U— Impeach-Trump (@Impeach-Trump) 1536846344.0
Then there was this gem in Montana last week.
Well. Here's Trump trying to pronounce 'anonymous' at his MAGA rally in Montana. https://t.co/0DQx2y7xcn— Sarah Peterson (@Sarah Peterson) 1536291307.0
@realDonaldTrump The man who can’t pronounce anonymous and has a fourth grade vocabulary calling someone a poor pub… https://t.co/bR03pS8L34— Emily A. (@Emily A.) 1536845968.0
Harsh, but not necessarily wrong.
@realDonaldTrump This tweet is the strongest argument for Congress to establish basic qualifications for anyone run… https://t.co/g9Ed5rTdPh— trueblu (@trueblu) 1536845502.0
@VictorF76120859 @realDonaldTrump And must release their tax returns. #LiarInChief #FakePresident #FailingDJT #ReleaseYourTaxes— William Raver (@William Raver) 1536848336.0
This person has a point.
@realDonaldTrump Nearly every single one of your tweets I need to double check to make sure it's not from a parody… https://t.co/lKzbX3sW2s— Ms.Kiddo🌊🌊🌊 (@Ms.Kiddo🌊🌊🌊) 1536846911.0
The president's behavior speaks for itself.
@realDonaldTrump Coming from our president who has no smarts, is a nervous mess, & is a poor public speaker! YOUR e… https://t.co/ZPXnEe2KC3— brightmyer (@brightmyer) 1536846416.0
@realDonaldTrump 😇 Mr 36% thinks he is smart! You have NO economic Policy! Only a TAXSCAM for the 1% and now Tariff… https://t.co/rOTbLiRoJQ— God 😇 (@God 😇) 1536848752.0
@realDonaldTrump Not only the worst president in modern history, Trump is the most destructive global leader to co… https://t.co/2Nvkbknv1h— TheResistance! AnaTrueBLUE💙 (@TheResistance! AnaTrueBLUE💙) 1536850581.0
@realDonaldTrump HAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.....wait...you're serious?— wende walsh (@wende walsh) 1536851239.0
Well, tweets count as official government statements under the Presidential Records Act, so yeah, he's serious.