Jamie Dimon, the CEO and chair of JPMorgan Chase, isn’t ruling out a disaster economic situation for the United States.
During an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday, the leader of America’s largest bank said that stagnation — the combination of a weak or stagnant economy and high inflation — could still be on the horizon.
“We have to be prepared for something like that,” Dimon said, stressing that he is not firmly making a prediction about the situation. “I think the global fiscal deficits are inflationary. I think the remilitarization of the world is inflationary. The restructuring of trade is inflationary.”
We’re not sure whether Dimon brought this on by voting for Trump, who insisted Dimon had endorsed him during the campaign, but Dimon denied it. Still, as a supporter of the first Trump administration, Dimon might have eventually pulled the lever for Trump in November.
Remember: In January, Dimon embraced the prospects of tariffs and told people to “get over it.”
Then, in April, he hit the panic button: Dimon issued a warning to his shareholders that the “tariffs will likely increase inflation and are causing many to consider a greater probability of a recession.”
On Thursday, Dimon said that the possibility of stagnation is not only “an American thing,” and the decrease of oil prices could be seen as deflationary.
The JPMorgan head’s warning came on the heels of the House passing President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” early Thursday morning. In a 215-214, with two Republicans joining every Democrat in opposition, the massive budget package aims to extend around $4.5 trillion in tax breaks, building off of Trump’s first term, while adding no tax on tips, car interest and overtime pay. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, though, predicted that the bill could increase the federal deficit by around $3.8 trillion over the next decade.
Trump celebrated the victory in a post on Truth Social after pressuring divided House Republicans in a visit to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to unite behind the multitrillion-dollar bill.
“‘THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ has PASSED the House of Representatives! This is arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country!” Trump wrote on his social media platform.
“Great job by Speaker Mike Johnson, and the House Leadership, and thank you to every Republican who voted YES on this Historic Bill! Now, it’s time for our friends in the United States Senate to get to work, and send this Bill to my desk AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! There is no time to waste,” he added.
Dimon had warned investors on Monday about tariffs, U.S. deficits and more — noting that the U.S. has not seen “effective tariffs” yet. He also said that stagflation and higher inflation have not been representative in stock market values, which have increased since a major low in April, CNBC reported.
“We have huge deficits, we have what I consider almost complacent central banks,” Dimon said during his bank’s annual investor meeting. “You all think they can manage all this. I don’t think they can,” he said.
The Federal Reserve has left interest rates steady since January amid Trump’s tariff policies, which are unpopular among most Americans as economists argue that costs will be driven up for U.S. consumers. Chair Jerome Powell said earlier this month that the risks of even higher inflation and unemployment are rising.
Trump, however, has continued to assail Powell for not cutting rates, which over time could lower borrowing costs for consumers and businesses.
Trump is pushing for rate cuts because he argues that the economy no longer suffers from the high inflation that spurred the Fed to sharply raise borrowing costs in 2022 and 2023.
During his interview with Bloomberg, Dimon said the Fed is “doing the right thing” by waiting to see the effects of different inflationary measures on the U.S. economy before making any cuts.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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