REUTERS/Gary Cameron





Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein told CNNMoney that the economy is better off under President Donald Trump than it would have been under Hillary Clinton.

Blankfein noted he had supported Clinton's White House bid.

Business confidence has surged under Trump as the administration has cut corporate taxes and pledged to roll back regulations.



The US economy is better off under President Donald Trump that it would have been under Hillary Clinton, according to Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs.

"If the president didn't win and Hillary Clinton won ... I bet you the economy is higher today than it otherwise would be," Blankfein said in an interview with CNN's Christine Romans.

Blankfein had backed Clinton's bid for the White House.

Two days before Trump's inauguration, he linked Wall Street's newfound confidence to Trump, but fell short of giving him full credit. "I think one of the reasons why the election had such a dramatic effect is because it was drawing people in the direction that it was already heading," Blankfein told CNBC from the 2017 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Economic growth has remained strong since Trump took office in November 2016, and hit his 3% target in two quarters last year. Business leaders' confidence has been bolstered by corporate tax cuts and pledges by the Trump administration to roll back regulations.

And now, there's concern about higher inflation, partly because of the new administration's fiscal stimulus.

Blankfein added that he was talking about the economy, "not other things." He's taken to Twitter to criticize Trump about some of those "other things," including the president's reported description of Haiti and African countries. " ... despite all the sh*t, American values will shine through," he tweeted last month.

NOW WATCH: Microsoft President Brad Smith says the US shouldn't get 'too isolationist'

See Also:

SEE ALSO: Wall Street needs to brace for an even bigger inflation scare