A condensed transcript of that conversation follows, edited for length and clarity. If the marriage between the Republican Party and the business community is on the rocks, what does that mean for politics? What do we misunderstand about what really matters to CEOs? And why arenвЂ™t business executives more afraid of boycott threats from the right?ДЇor answers to all of that and more, POLITICO Magazine spoke with Sonnenfeld this week. Divisiveness in society is not in their interest, short term or long term.вЂќ

вЂњBasically, business leaders believe that itвЂ™s in the interest of society to have social harmony. Ted CruzвЂ™s Twitter threat to use the power of the state to harm Major League BaseballвЂ™s business, signing the message off with вЂњ go woke, go brokeвЂќ-fundamentally misunderstands what matters to business in the 21st century, says Sonnenfeld. The new Republican penchant for mocking corporations for being too socially aware-for instance, Sen. вЂњThat workforce is, at a minimum, highly diverse-and they get along. вЂњThe bad news for Republicans is that they seem to have a 1920s view of who Big BusinessвЂ™ workforce is,вЂќ says Sonnenfeld. The millions of people alienated by those fights arenвЂ™t just their future customers, many of whom expect to support brands they believe in, theyвЂ™re the companiesвЂ™ employees. In the eyes of major corporations, issues like voting rights, immigration and transgender-inclusive restrooms have economic impact, too. вЂњTheir comments ranged from talk about вЂtaxation without representationвЂ™ to the paradox of вЂcancel cultureвЂ™: ItвЂ™s OK if they speak out, but only as long as they stay on script?вЂќДЄs the GOP tries to position itself as the home of вЂњworking-class values,вЂќ capturing loyalty with a steady campaign against the perceived excesses of progressive culture, itвЂ™s running afoul of a business community that canвЂ™t simply silo off вЂњculture warвЂќ topics. The CEOs вЂњranged from amused to outragedвЂќ in their reaction to the GOP attacks on businesses, says Sonnenfeld. Most of the CEOs on the call were Republicans Sonnenfeld himself has been an informal adviser to Republican and Democratic presidents, but he has a longstanding relationship with McConnell, and spoke at the senatorвЂ™s wedding to Elaine Chao. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Subscribe on Google Podcasts

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