"You either take the Republican agenda or you take the Democratic agenda,” former General Electric CEO Jack Welch says. | AP Photo Jack Welch outlines why he's supporting Trump

Jack Welch may have to think twice about backing Ted Cruz again, but there’s no doubt in his mind which presidential candidate he’s voting for in November: Donald Trump.

Casting the Republican presidential nominee as the candidate who can strengthen the economy, create jobs, peel back regulations and be tough on terrorism and immigration, the former General Electric CEO on Tuesday outlined why he is backing Trump.


“Basically, I want a strong economy that creates jobs,” Welch told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

“This is a binary choice. You either take the Republican agenda or you take the Democratic agenda,” he continued. “The Democratic agenda is Obama-plus stated over and over again.”

Regulations are also “choking” American businesses, Welch said, adding that President Barack Obama plans to increase regulations in the final months of his presidency. He also conceded that Trump, as president, may have to negotiate with Congress, meaning his proposals could get watered down before they’re enacted.

“Well, it will be a negotiation with Congress. But this is his position and I like his position, and he’ll have to negotiate with Congress because Congress might not wanna reform EPA as much as he does and that’ll be a negotiation,” Welch said. “OK, that’s a fact of life. I like him negotiating from these positions a lot more than I like the Democratic candidate negotiating because she’s negotiating from Obama-plus, OK? It truly is. We might not get all this, but I like starting here and fighting like hell for it because I know it’ll grow the economy 4 percent-plus.”

Welch last week told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto that he would have second thoughts about backing Cruz again, noting that he didn’t like the fact that the Texas senator hasn’t honored his pledge to support Trump as the nominee. He added that he would be casting his vote for Trump because America can’t afford eight more years of Democrats charting the nation’s economic course.