There’s a pretty clear sentiment in America’s corporate world these days: anxiety.
Yes, big business generally welcomes thederegulatory promiseand likelylighter tax billthat comes with Donald Trump’s second presidency.
But the accompanying uncertainty of Trump 2.0 is also leaving corporate America slightly on edge.
In short, we’re in an era of scaredy-cat capitalism.
When Trump took office in 2017, many CEOs were alarmed by hisimmigrationandclimatepolicies.
When Trump was inaugurated in 2025, some of America’s most recognizablecorporate executives were seated behind him.
Major companies and leadersdonated millions of dollars to Trump’s inauguration fundand have visited the president’s Mar-a-Lago club.
Meta similarly cut a deal in January to give $22 million to settle a 2021 suit.
Companies including Target, Walmart, and Meta have announced policy rollbacks.
The plan, according to Trump, is to stop “illegal DEI.”
Agencies may be looking for low-hanging fruit to make an example out of to make it scare others off.
“The fear is real,” he said.
“It’s not reducing their risks.”
But for business, it can be challenging to navigate.
“Trump is highly unpredictable, which creates a challenging business environment.”
Plus, you’re not sure what’s going to happen with electric vehicle tax credits.
It’s hard to know where to begin or whether to make an investment at all.
Tariffs on imports from China would likely affect the company, too.
“I would prepare presentations the night before, and they’d be updated by the next morning.”
Conant pointed out that this fight will be more uncertain for businesses.
That could make for some winners and losers, and pit various industries against each other.
To be sure, businesses are benefiting from plenty of Trump’s actions, uncertainty and all.
Still, the insecurity of it all remains a challenge.
“There’s too much uncertainty for meaningful decisions to be made right now.”
The National Association of Home Builders survey that tracks sentiment among homebuilders found that confidence fell in February.
Across corporate America, a pervasive sense of unease is setting in.
The feeling permeates through consumers and workers, too.
Many companies have beencutting their workforces.
Plenty of consumers have wondered if theyshould stock up on stuff before tariffstake hold, andsome have taken action.
Emily Stewartis a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.
