President Trump Accuses Bank of America of Debanking Conservatives, Stuns Davos Crowd

Good morning from Davos, Switzerland, on the final day of the World Economic Forum. The hottest chatter over the past 24 hours has been about two topics.

As President Trump sat down for a Q. and A. with several C.E.O.s, including Brian Moynihan of Bank of America, Trump pivoted quickly to Moynihan and began speaking about how conservatives were being mistreated by big banks and asked Moynihan directly if his institution had debanked conservatives. Moynihan, looking visibly uncomfortable, said that the bank did not, and Trump continued to press him on the issue before eventually moving on.

The dust-up was the culmination of several months of pressure from the right on big banks over the issue of conservative deplatforming, and it quickly became one of the main talking points at Davos. Several C.E.O.s expressed sympathy for Moynihan’s predicament and said that they, too, had been personally confronted by Trump on the issue.

“Everyone was talking about it,” said one C.E.O. who was present at the event. “It was very clear that Trump had been speaking to a lot of people about this issue and that he was personally invested in it.”

The incident also highlighted the difficulties that C.E.O.s face in navigating the increasingly polarized political landscape in the United States. With both parties putting pressure on them to take sides, C.E.O.s are finding themselves in a no-win situation.

“It's a lose-lose for C.E.O.s,” said another C.E.O. who spoke to DealBook on the condition of anonymity. “If they agree with Trump, they'll lose half their customers. But if they disagree with him, they'll lose access to the administration and face his wrath.”

The dust-up at Davos is likely to continue in the coming days, as both sides of the issue ramp up their pressure on big banks. It remains to be seen how the banks will ultimately respond, but the incident has certainly put them on notice.