Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan was on Wednesday’s CBS Mornings to discuss the struggling economy — including the belief of his chief economist that the U.S. is headed for a recession — but much of it was derailed by the liberal co-hosts pressuring the woke CEO from the left and demand he commit to paying for employees to have abortions and cover their travel expenses should they have to go to another state to end their baby’s life.
Co-host Nate Burleson made the pivot, stating he had “to hear your thoughts on something that’s been a topic of conversation” with the possible end of RoeAnd specifically, will Bank of America be there? “be doing the same” Citigroup Inc. “cover[ing] cover travel expenses for women that want to get abortions in other states.”
Moynihan was a stickler for corporate jargon. He insists that once actual opinions are available, they will be released. “a group of teammates…will sit there with our HR teammates and a broader group…and say, ‘what do we need to do for our team?’”
He also said that he “could have a personal point of view” about abortion, but it’s irrelevant because “that’s not we do” Instead, focus on “what the team wants” even if it’s “a tough issue” and Bank of America’s 200,000 employees are “representing all of America.”
This led co-host Tony Dokoupil to keep pressing, arguing he’s “said a few years ago that the role of a CEO is now driving or includes driving what you think is right” and thus it’s worth knowing whether he believes women deserve access to abortions.
In response, Moynihan cited their virulent support for gun control (which he said “had nothing to do with Second Amendment”) based on how employees were victims of mass shootings in Charleston, Las Vegas, and Orlando (click “expand”):
BURLESON: It’s a tough issue for the country.
MOYNIHAN: Yeah, it’s a tough issue. And so, we’ll see. Let us — let us go to work on — letting it play out.
DOKOUPIL: Going to work for sure, but —
KING: Yeah.
DOKOUPIL: — you said a few years ago that the role of a CEO is now driving or includes driving what you think is right.
The King: It is right.
DOKOUPIL: Do you believe it is right that women have access to abortions as a constitutional rights?
MOYNIHAN: We — it’s the settled law of the land. We believe that people should have that access. The question — they’re — it’s going to be — there’s going to be a lot of discussion about what this case says and means. And let’s go back to — when we said — took a position on guns a few years ago, what happens — the team came and said, look, four of the nine victims in Charleston were related to teammates. Two people — two of our teammates were in Las Vegas. There were four people at the pulse nightclub. Then I flew down to Orlando to speak to them. One was a — an EMT from the military, had been in, you know, Afghanistan and war. It was, he said, the most horrible thing he had ever witnessed.
KING
MOYNIHAN: They said we have to do something about the high impact rifle — had nothing to do with Second Amendment —
BURLESON: Right.
MOYNIHAN: — nothing to do with the right to hunt. And so, we took that position because our team said, “what are you doing?”
Moynihan tried to prove himself to the woke host by citing employees’ demands to support his position “the so-called bathroom bill in North Carolina because our team wouldn’t come to meetings because they said they didn’t feel safe.”
This means that liberal Bank of America employees, as with most modern things, can accomplish whatever they wish so long it uses a mixture of threats and meltdowns similar to when a little kid loses his way at the grocery store.
Moynihan confirmed that fact: “So, you have to shape [the company’s stances] around what they say.”
Before wrapping with a question about “what’s keeping you up at night” that drew predictable answers such as the pandemic, fears of a recession, and cybersecurity, co-host and Democratic donor Gayle King made her run at him from the left, by wondering “what guides your decision-making process” since he’s “known as a CEO that makes decisions that are beyond business decisions.”
Sounding like a true corporate liberal, Moynihan said Bank of America’s political stances are based on whether “our people can be effective” and “serve our customers well,” whether it’s shareholders or “our communities.”
CBS’s latest force-feeding of corporate liberalism to viewers was made possible thanks to advertisers such as Dawn and Progressive. Follow the links to see their contact information at the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.
To see the relevant CBS transcript from May 4, click “expand.”
CBS Mornings
April 4, 2022
Eastern: 7:34[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: The Fight Against Inflation; Bank of America CEO on Soaring Inflation & Possibility of a Recession]
NATE BURLESON: I would like to hear your thoughts on something that’s been a topic of conversation over the last couple of days. According to some reports, The Supreme Court intends to change Roe v. Wade. Reports have surfaced that some major employers including Citigroup are going to pay travel expenses for women who wish to obtain abortions elsewhere. Bank of America will do the same?
BRIAN MOYNIHAN – With such things, we take a look at the needs of our team. First of all, the decision has to come down and the leak and everything that you guys have been covering is — is tragic in a sense. But ,when the case comes down, we have a group of teammates that will sit there with our HR teammates and a broader group — they’ll sit and say, “what do we need to do for our team?” So, the positions we take on this and other matters is drilled — as a company, has to be over what our team needs.
BURLESON: And their reaction to —
MOYNIHAN: I could have a personal point of view, but that’s not — that’s not what we do. It’s not what we do. We look at it from the perspective of our team. So, give us a few — give us — the case has to come out and give us a reaction and we’ll figure out what we’ll do. But this — you know, this is a tough issue for our team. There are 200,000 Americans represented by us.
BURLESON: It’s a tough issue for the country.
MOYNIHAN: Yeah, it’s a tough issue. And so, we’ll see. Let us — let us go to work on — letting it play out.
TONY DOKOUPIL: Going to work for sure, but —
KING: Yeah.
DOKOUPIL: — you said a few years ago that the role of a CEO is now driving or includes driving what you think is right.
The King: It is right.
DOKOUPIL – Do you agree that women should be able to have abortion access as a constitutional right before the Supreme Court?
MOYNIHAN: We — it’s the settled law of the land. This is what we believe. The question — they’re — it’s going to be — there’s going to be a lot of discussion about what this case says and means. And let’s go back to — when we said — took a position on guns a few years ago, what happens — the team came and said, look, four of the nine victims in Charleston were related to teammates. Two people — two of our teammates were in Las Vegas. There were four people at the pulse nightclub. Then I flew down to Orlando to speak to them. One was a — an EMT from the military, had been in, you know, Afghanistan and war. It was, he said, the most horrible thing he had ever witnessed.
KING
MOYNIHAN: They said we have to do something about the high impact rifle — had nothing to do with Second Amendment —
BURLESON: Right.
MOYNIHAN: — nothing to do with the right to hunt. And so, we took that position because our team said, “what are you doing?” We took the position about, you know, the so-called bathroom bill in North Carolina because our team wouldn’t come to meetings —
KING: Mmhmm.
MOYNIHAN: — because they said they didn’t feel safe.
KING: But, Brian —
MOYNIHAN: So, you have to shape it —
KING: — you’re known as a CEO —
MOYNIHAN: — around what they say.
KING: — that makes decisions that are beyond business decisions.
MOYNIHAN: Yep.
KING: So, if — if your employees and your customers take a stand, is that what guides your decision-making process on these issues?
MOYNIHAN: We have many people and many stands. However, the real question is how effective can these people be? Are they able to serve customers effectively? We believe they can. We believe that we can run the company with four components. We are passionate about profit and purpose. The fourth constituent’s communities. It’s — I put it in my annual report letter, and that’s how we run it and we deliver for the shareholder —
KING: Yeah.
MOYNIHAN: — and we deliver for society. It’s not as if we just go to find topics. Because a bank is a reflection of its community, it’s important that we discuss those topics. So that —
Brian King, what’s the thing keeping you up at nights? Listen, for most people it’s gas prices, grocer — what’s keeping you up at night —
MOYNIHAN: Look, we have —
KING: — before you go?
MOYNIHAN: The big issues are still — we have a pandemic to finish getting through.
KING: Yep.
MOYNIHAN: And every day, I have teammates that get this disease and the good news is that —
KING: Us, too, yeah —
MOYNIHAN: — the impact is so much lower, the vaccines were wonderful. This is unbelievable science.
BURLESON: Right.
MOYNIHAN: So, that’s one. The Russian/Ukraine war — does it backup and create a recession in Europe and around the world? This is more an economic question. There are also the other interesting issues, such as cybersecurity, that you need to be concerned about. However, I need to be concerned about whether I have the staff to support you as customers. And if so, how do we approach these problems? And we have a group of people who have varying points of view, honestly —
KING: Yes.
MOYNIHAN: — of right, left, everything, who argue it out, come in, and we say we’ve got to do this and that’s how we get to —
KING: It sounds like you are watching what we are watching.
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