CNN guest and NYU Stern School of Business Professor Scott Galloway launched a broadside against the “kleptocracy” for cozying up to the Trump administration to protect their wealth, and called out Jeff Bezos in light of Amazon’s agreement to pay $40 million for licensing rights to Melania Trump’s documentary.
Galloway first told AC360 anchor Anderson Cooper that Elon Musk’s prominent position in Trump’s administration is a result of “people’s rights [being] a function of their wealth.”
“My fear is that the wealthiest among us have this sort of unholy alliance where we‘re not really speaking up in a full-throated way—we‘re showing up to the inauguration, we‘re giving $1 million to the inauguration committee under the auspices of shareholder value—not recognizing those people are going to be fine. The wealthy are going to be fine,” Galloway said.
Galloway called for “a series of class traitors amongst the wealthiest who realize that the very American ideals that gave them so much prosperity, that gave them so much wealth, are severely under threat right now.”
“I think it is incredibly embarrassing that we have this domino of cowardice among the wealthiest—especially in tech—who have decided not to say anything because they have gone into ChatGPT and uploaded their W-2s and realized that the tax cuts are going to be enormously beneficial for them,” continued Galloway.
Earlier, the author and podcast host said that the controversy over the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was a “weapon of mass distraction” on Trump’s behalf because Republicans’ proposed tax cuts would add “$900 billion a year in deficits.”
Greed, Galloway then said, was motivating the likes of the Amazon CEO.
“Bezos doesn’t need any more yachts or people dancing around in thongs on his goddamn deck,” Galloway said. “On his deathbed, he‘s not going to regret being worth 90 billion versus $120 billion. He‘s going to regret not standing up for American values.”
When Cooper asked if he saw signs of “kleptocracy” slowing, Galloway was skeptical, referencing how the first lady will get more than 70 percent of the $40 million amount offered by Amazon.
He then accused X CEO Linda Yaccarino of threatening “government retribution” to obstruct a merger between media company Omnicom and advertising company IPG unless they advertise on the site.
“This is not only a kleptocracy, but it‘s reminiscent of [the] early ’30s, where industry basically entered into this alliance with the leader at that time, Adolf Hitler, who said, ‘I will bust the unions if you give me money,’” Galloway said.
“There not only needs to be a separation of church and state. There needs to be a separation of state and business,” he argued.
“And what we see is the most powerful people in business are bending a knee and giving in to this ridiculous pressure where they have said, ‘OK, the incentives are to bribe this guy, kiss his a--, engage in this type of of one-sided support, and he will give me money.”
