Businesses are betting on a Trump win, executive adviser says

US business leaders ‘deny’ Vice President Kamala HarrisRepublican presidential candidate’s lead widens Donald TrumpExecutive consultant Tina Fordham said Thursday her clients still have high hopes for the former president’s return.

Fordham, founder of strategic consulting firm Fordham Global Foresight, told CNBC that her client base includes institutional investors, board members and executives who still view Trump as the more business-friendly candidate and their first choice.

“They still want Trump to be elected president, they still think it’s going to happen,” Fordham told CNN.European street signs.“

According to the latest average of national polling organizations, Harris leads Trump by 2.6 percentage points. FiveThirtyEight.

That lead has been rising steadily since she announced her candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination. Joe Biden Withdraw from the competition Last month. Despite this, Fordham said many executives chose to ignore the findings.

Fordham, a geopolitical strategist who previously served as Citibank’s first chief global political analyst, has 25 years of experience advising leaders at the intersection of politics and business.

“I’m seeing a lot of people denying the polls,” Fordham said. “A Harris victory is certainly not priced in. A lot of Wall Street players are very interested in Trump returning to the White House.”

Trump is widely seen as pro-business, trying to capitalize on existing support from Wall Street after his first term. Harris’ business stance is less clear.

Fordham, however, distinguished between the preferences of Big Tech and Big Banks and those of businesses, which she said are “strongly supporting” Harris for the presidency.

“They rely on the American phenomenon of free trade and democracy that has powered global business for the past 30 years,” she said.

Businesses will be able to get a closer look at Harris’ economic agenda on Friday when the vice president gives a speech in North Carolina outlining her plans. Expected measures include the first-ever federal ban on “Companies raise prices“In the food and grocery industry, this could potentially mirror Trump’s proposed elimination of the tip tax.

This is after Trump Tout He delivered his economic agenda in swing states on Wednesday, sharing plans to cut taxes, overhaul energy policy and reduce inflation.

Fordham, however, said she doesn’t expect Harris’ plan to go into much detail, with the presidential candidate opting for strategic ambiguity. “The more details a candidate gives, the more voters they lose,” Fordham said.