Bill Ackman says China could exploit President Biden’s withdrawal announcement
The chaos in the race for the White House has billionaire investor Bill Ackman worried about the world’s geopolitical stability—specifically, that China might exploit volatility.
On Sunday night, President Biden announced he would withdraw as the Democratic candidate in this year’s presidential election and has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor.
The statement was posted on President Biden’s personal page X—the social media site owned by Elon Musk, formerly known as Twitter—EQUAL a signed letter.
Subsequent posts from President Biden’s account urged Democratic supporters to donate to Harris’ campaign.
The announcement of President Biden’s withdrawal – following widespread speculation about the 81-year-old’s health – was posted on a social media site and drew criticism from Ackman, the founder and CEO of investment management firm Pershing Square Holdings.
Also posting on X, Ackman said Biden’s decision to post online rather than through traditional media channels opened the door to exploitation.
“It is thought that a letter to the American people from the president announcing his decision to resign would not be signed digitally and would be accompanied by a photo and a meeting scheduled for the next morning,” said Ackman—net worth $8.04 billion according to Forbes. Bloomberg Billionaires Index-write.
“Instead, we have a digitally signed letter posted to the president’s @X account, an account we know is run by a staffer, with no photos and no scheduled live address to the American people.
“If I were China, I would invade Taiwan tomorrow,” he added, perhaps jokingly.
In a follow-up post, Ackman—a harsh critic on Biden’s record—continued: “If this were a hostage situation, that letter would not qualify as proof of life.”
The exact date or time President Biden will address the nation has not yet been confirmed.
It is thought that a letter to the American people from the president announcing his resignation would not be signed digitally and would be accompanied by a photo and a scheduled meeting for the following morning.
Instead we have a…
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) July 22, 2024
Ackman appeared to suggest that rival world powers could use the scramble to determine how a major political event would unfold in the United States while Uncle Sam’s attention is elsewhere.
Wall Street’s worries
Geopolitical tensions were top of mind for veteran Wall Street investors even before this weekend’s news.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has long been quoted as saying geopolitical tensions is one of the biggest threats to the US economy and continued to hold that stance last week.
He told the Swiss newspaper NZZ“People talk a lot about economic growth and inflation. I see those as smaller risks. For me, the main risk is geopolitics.”
The combination of the war between Ukraine and Russia and the growing nuclear threat in the Middle East affects China’s relationship with its Western neighbors in Europe and America.
“This is a dangerous series of events that could either derail or become decisive,” Dimon added. “It’s not about the economy, it’s about freedom and democracy in the next hundred years.”
Taiwan tensions
Tensions around Taiwan have also been rising, due to statements made by former President Donald Trump – the Republican candidate – in recent weeks.
Taiwan considers itself a politically separate country from China, with democratically elected leaders, while China considers the island part of its territory.
Although the United States no formal diplomatic relations With Taiwan, it “provides defense articles and services as necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain adequate self-defense capabilities.”
That said, in an interview with Bloomberg Last week, Trump said that Taiwan has to pay the United States for this relationship.
“I think Taiwan should pay us for defense,” he said. “You know, we are no different from an insurance company. Taiwan doesn’t give us anything.”
“Taiwan took our chip business, I mean, how stupid are we? They took all our chip business. They’re incredibly rich. And I don’t think we’re any different than an insurance policy. Why? Why would we do that?”
While Taiwan would have a hard time “taking over” chip factories from the US, the country is home to the chip manufacturing giant. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing The company (TSMC), which creates supplies for companies like Apple and Nvidia.
