Ahead of the election, Trump was adamant about what he thought of bankers in general.
"I know Wall Street. I know the people on Wall Street… I'm not going to let Wall Street get away with murder. Wall Street has caused tremendous problems for us," he said.
Trump has had run-ins with bankers over decades, during his patchy business career that has seen him amass fortunes in real estate and lose big bucks in failed projects. He does not suffer bankers gladly.
He saved his most savage remarks in the election campaign for his Democrat opponent Hillary Clinton, who he lambasted for her cozy relationship with the establishment — political, financial and the media.
"Hillary Clinton meets in secret with international banks to plot the destruction of US sovereignty in order to enrich these global financial powers, her special interest friends and her donors," Trump said.
Trump's Sachs Change
How things have changed. He has named Steve Bannon as his chief strategist and adviser. That would be the same Steve Bannon who worked for investment bankers Goldman Sachs, before setting up Bannon & Co., the boutique investment bank which negotiated the sale of Castle Rock Entertainment to media tycoon Ted Turner.
.@realDonaldTrump on Aug. 8: "We can’t fix a rigged system by relying on the people who rigged it in the first place." #DrainTheSwamp https://t.co/A3Wrrukn4b
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) 17 November 2016
Another ex-Goldman Sachs banker, Steven Mnuchin — Trump's campaign national finance chairman — is tipped for Treasury secretary, but if he turns it down, all tongues are wagging over JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who could take the role instead, or act as an outside consultant.
Another current Goldman Sachs man could also benefit from the Trump turnaround: a certain ex-European Commissioner José Manuel Barroso.
If Trump's new-found love-in with the bankers is anything to go by, financiers from New York will be enjoying the coming festive season, knowing that the President-elect's plan to 'Make America Great Again' by investing in infrastructure and jobs will be manna from heaven for those he accused of getting away with murder.
