Jamie Dimon is known for saying what he thinks. At Davos, the JPMorgan CEO was uncharacteristically constrained when talking about Donald Trump and his policies, striking a cautious balance between criticism and praise.
This is a familiar dance in a relationship that has swung between mutual respect and open hostility since Trump first took office in 2016.
Dimon, who once described himself as “barely a Democrat,” has publicly criticized some of Trump’s economic and political policies, including on tariffs, while also praising his deregulatory moves and efforts to grow the economy.
“He was kind of right about NATO. Kind of right about immigration. He grew the economy quite well. Tax reform worked. He was right about some of China,” Dimon said in Davos in 2024, while in the same breath saying he didn’t like some of Trump’s rhetoric.
Now that Trump has filed suit against Dimon and JPMorgan for $5 billion over claims of politically-motivated debanking, here’s a look at their relationship over the years.
2016: Dimon didn’t endorse Trump
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Although he financially supported Hillary Clinton’s 2008 run for office, Dimon didn’t publicly endorse a candidate that year, in 2012, or in 2016. He said in a memo following Trump’s victory that his win reflected a “deep desire for change” across the country.
February to August 2017: Dimon sits on — and leaves — a Presidential advisory group
The JPMorgan CEO sat on Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum, a group that first met in February of 2017 and focused on how government policies affected economic growth. After Trump’s inflammatory response to a violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, members of the council, including Dimon, decided to disband the group.
Shortly thereafter, Trump announced that he was disbanding the group in a post on then-Twitter.
September 2018: Dimon says he could beat Trump in an election
Dimon, who has considered a pivot to politics himself, said that he could “beat Trump” in a head-to-head election during a JPMorgan event.
“Because I’m as tough as he is, I’m smarter than he is,” Dimon said. He also took a shot at Trump’s wealth, saying that he earned his money, which “wasn’t a gift from daddy.”
Dimon later walked back the comments, saying they proved he wouldn’t be a good politician.
Trump responded in a Tweet, saying that Dimon “doesn’t have the aptitude or the ‘smarts.'”
February 2021: JPMorgan closes Trump’s accounts
Trump said in the recent lawsuit that JPMorgan told him in February 2021 that it was closing his accounts, along with accounts of some of his family’s businesses. Trump, along with some other conservatives, has criticized perceived politically motivated “debanking” in recent months, claiming that JPMorgan and other banks have shut down the accounts of conservatives.
November 2023: Support for Nikki Haley
During the 2024 Republican primaries, Dimon openly praised former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and advised Democrats to support her if they didn’t want to face Trump again.
“Even if you’re a very liberal Democrat, I urge you, help Nikki Haley, too,” he said at the DealBook Summit. “Get a choice on the Republican side that might be better than Trump.”
Dimon also said he was ready to work with Trump again, should he win reelection.
The banker’s call for supporting Haley drew Trump’s ire, with the then-former president calling Dimon a “highly overrated globalist” in a Truth Social post.
July 2024: Trump floats Dimon for Treasury Secretary
Trump’s tone on Dimon changed during a 2024 interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, in which he said he had “a lot of respect” for the JPMorgan CEO.
“He is somebody that I would consider, sure,” he added when asked if Dimon could be his next Treasury Secretary.
November 2024: Dimon declines to endorse Trump
Trump ramped up pressure on Dimon in the lead-up to the 2024 election, posting on Truth Social that Dimon had endorsed him.
Dimon denied he’d endorsed Trump through a JPMorgan spokesperson.
August 2025: Trump goes after “politicized” debanking
The pair’s public relationship grew tense again in the summer of 2025, after Trump signed an executive order for federal banking regulators to eliminate guidance that encourages what he calls “politicized” or “unlawful” debanking.
Trump told CNBC that JPMorgan and Bank of America had refused to accept his deposits, saying that the financial institutions “discriminate against many conservatives.”
January 2026: Fed independence, credit cards, and a $5 billion lawsuit
Trump’s claims of discrimination gave way to his $5 billion lawsuit against JPMorgan and its CEO. The bank denies any wrongdoing related to the closure of Trump’s accounts, saying that account closures are sometimes required “because they create legal or regulatory risk for the company.”
“We regret having to do so but often rules and regulatory expectations lead us to do so,” reads a January statement from JPMorgan.
However, the suit isn’t the only recent point of tension between Trump and Dimon. Dimon has become more outspoken in his opposition to some of Trump’s latest economic policies, including lambasting Trump’s proposed 10% cap on credit card interest as an “economic disaster.”
Speaking at the World Economic Forum, Dimon predicted that, if enacted, the cap could strip credit from 80% of Americans.
In a January interview with the Chamber of Commerce, Dimon also reiterated his belief in the Fed’s independence, which has come into question in recent days amid the Justice Department’s investigation into the central bank.
Dimon said there was “absolutely, positively, no chance, no way, no how for any reason” that he would serve as Fed Chair, but he did say he would “consider” the job of Treasury Secretary — if it was offered.
He’d need to understand “what they want and how they want to operate” before making a decision, Dimon said.
