Specifically, one of former President Donald Trump’s lawsuits alleges that JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America discriminated against him. Further, he most recently claimed that these two too big to fail banks discriminated against him. Appearing on an episode of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Trump explained that the two banks had rejected him, their new customer. He claims that this denial is indicative of an alarming trend in which conservative clientele find themselves unable to bank.
In the extensive interview, Trump remembered one exchange with Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan. As Trump puts it, quoting Moynihan, “We may be the ones who can’t.” This rejection followed Trump’s efforts to place significant funds into various accounts, stating he had “putting $10 million here, $10 million there” across smaller banks after being denied by the major institutions.
Trump first contrasted his predicament with that of other financial institutions. He mentioned that another bank had been provided with “hundreds of millions of dollars in cash,” suggesting a disparity in how financial institutions handle different clients based on their political affiliations.
In his remarks, Trump expressed his belief that the treatment he received from banks was unfair, declaring, “The banks discriminated against me very badly, and I was very good to the banks.” His remarks are an indictment of the reemergence of claims that conservative clientele have been unjustly denied banking services. What a story. This narrative is music to the ears of most of his supporters.
Trump’s false claims have certainly been entertaining – and dangerous. People are up in arms, demanding accountability for these obvious connections between our financial institutions and their politically connected clientele. The nation, too, is experiencing increasing polarization. Trump’s allegations raise important questions about the extent to which someone’s political views—and not the quality of the service—will determine access to banking services.