Smerconish: Would Walmart Hire Donald Trump? What About Hillary Clinton?
Andrew Ross Sorkin, a New York Times columnist and host with CNBC’s Squawk Box, appeared on CNN with Michael Smerconish today where they discussed Sorkin’s recent piece, “Were He Seeking Any Other Job, Trump Would Be Flagged By H.R.”
“Andrew, would they hire him? Would corporate America hire a guy with all these revelations?” Michael Smerconish asked Sorkin with regard to the premise of his Times article: would Walmart hire Donald Trump?
As someone who has exhibited the seemingly baffling behavior and had all the accusations levied against him as Donald Trump has, as previously reported by the Inquisitr, Sorkin had doubts that Trump would be employable with any company.
“Thousands of employees have been fired or pushed out for using far less repugnant language than Mr. Trump’s words about how he gropes women,” Sorkin writes in the New York Times.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) employs 2.3 million people in 28 countries, as reported by Yahoo Finance Canada.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYJUMBI86ns
Sorkin stated that the Republican candidate would probably give “any” human resources personnel with major corporations “heart palpitations.” The CNBC host and author went on to say that Trump’s actions would not be in line with what is seen as acceptable by Fortune 500 companies.
He continued by listing things that are prohibited by Walmart, including “sexually explicit language; off-color jokes; remarks about a person’s body; using slurs or negative stereotyping; verbal kidding, teasing, or joking; [and] intimidating acts such as bullying or threatening.”
Sorkin stated that it seemed that the Walmart list of prohibited actions was made specifically for Donald Trump, a point that did not seem lost on Michael Smerconish.
The host and the guest then agreed that executives, or any employees, exhibiting such wide-ranging questionable behavior would pose a “liability” concern, opening up litigation considerations most corporations would rather not deal with.
Sorkin described a hypothetical company hiring Trump being left open to legal action if he subsequently acted inappropriately, particularly in light of what is now publicly known about him.
Smerconish asked Sorkin if Trump should be given any “slack” because he was in the entertainment industry; making comparisons to “west coast” writers’ room litigation. The host may be referring to a 2006 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that, among other things, “trash talk” was part of the creative process, as reported by Gawker. The judges reportedly ruled that profanity-laced discussions among writers did not equate to attacks on an assistant.
Sorkin replied that he felt that this was “a very different situation” and that recent revelations reveal an “unfortunate” side of Donald Trump.
When asked if he felt that Trump’s personal brand might be “done,” as suggested by Mark Cuban on Twitter, Andrew Sorkin stated a belief that some people may avoid Trump hotels and properties in the future, but that if his companies continue to offer competitive services, most people would continue to patronize them.
Sorkin called Donald Trump’s travel properties “great hotels.”
The CNBC host stated that after he published his NYT piece, he was contacted by “several” CEOs who said they would not employ Democratic nominee and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton either, citing concerns over her private email server. Hillary Clinton has previously served as a member of Walmart’s Board of Directors.
In July, Trump Tower in Manhattan was the scene of protesters calling for Walmart to stop its financial support of the Republican National Convention, as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC), United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS), and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) were reported to do, as reported by the Daily Mail.
At the time, a Walmart spokesperson stated that the company was donating $15,000 to each party and that it was up to voters to decide.
“The company is not taking a position on the election,” Greg Hitt, with Walmart, was quoted by the Mail.
[Featured Image by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]
