- Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman criticized the violence in Washington, DC, which followed Trump’s speech on Wednesday, calling it an “insurrection”.
- “I am shocked and horrified by this crowd’s attempt to undermine our constitution,” he said in a statement to Insider.
- Schwarzman had previously defended the Trump lawsuits that challenged the election results during a phone call in November with dozens of Fortune 500 CEOs.
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Blackstone CEO, President and Co-Founder Stephen Schwarzman on Wednesday denounced the violent attacks by Trump’s supporters on the United States Capitol after following the president’s inciting rhetoric.
“The insurrection that followed the president’s comments today is shocking and an affront to democratic values that we regard as expensive as Americans,” Schwarzman said in a statement to Insider.
“I am shocked and horrified by this crowd’s attempt to undermine our constitution. As I said in November, the result of the election is very clear and there must be a peaceful transition of power, ”he added.
Schwarzman’s criticisms are notable because of his close ties to Trump and his earlier defense of his attempts to challenge the results of the U.S. presidential election.
In late November, Schwarzman admitted that Trump had lost the election. Just a few weeks earlier, however, when more than 24 CEOs of Fortune 500 companies met to discuss what to do if Trump refused to leave the White House, Schwarzman defended Trump’s unfounded electoral processes, according to the Associated Press.
During the call, Schwarzman contested the suggestion of other executives that there was a possibility of a coup, repeated at least one of the president’s unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud and expressed skepticism about Pennsylvania’s results, according to the AP.
Schwarzman has been an ally of Trump and a staunch supporter since 2016, when he headed a group of business leaders to “frequently” advise then-elected President Trump on economic issues.