Trump Shares Pushback Report on 'Meandering' CEO Meeting: 'Bunch of BS'

Former President Donald Trump speaks in Detroit, Michigan on June 15, 2024. Trump on Tuesday slammed a report that he held a “meandering” meeting with CEOs last week.

Former President Donald Trump slammed a report that a group of CEOs felt he was "meandering" during a recent meeting.

Trump met with the CEOs at the Business Roundtable's quarterly meeting on Thursday but struggled to instill confidence in the group of business leaders, according to a report from CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin. The news outlet reported that several of the CEOs in attendance voiced concerns about the former president being "meandering" and not able to keep "a straight thought."

On Tuesday, nearly a week after the report, Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to criticize the report, sharing excerpts of an article from conservative publication The Daily Signal.

"'Bunch of BS' Attendee at Trump's CEO Meeting Refutes Media Reports," Trump posted on Tuesday at 10:04 p.m.

His post continued: "'The attendee who spoke with The Daily Signal said Sorkin's interpretation is wrong. (The Daily Signal granted the attendee anonymity to speak candidly about the private meeting.) 'There was never a moment of meandering,' the attendee said. 'He was focused. In fact, he received a loud ovation at the end.'

"The attendee added: 'There was not one CEO who wasn't impressed with what they heard from Trump. Everybody was clapping.' Sorkin did not immediately reply to The Daily Signal's request for comment."

"It's a clear bunch of BS," the attendee told The Daily Signal. "This is a farce all the way around."

Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign and CNBC for comment via email.

The report shared by Trump is notably more favorable to him than, the CNBC report, which cites Sorkin as saying "These were people who I think might have been actually predisposed to [Trump but] actually walked out of the room less predisposed" to him.

Both reports are based on anonymous sources and Newsweek could not verify the claims made.

The CNBC report said Trump offered "scant details" about key economic policies including how he would cut taxes and business regulations.

Trump's energy in the meeting was also noticeably subdued, the report said mentioning to two people who were in the room. At no time during his remarks was there any noticeable applause for Trump, two attendees told CNBC," the article reads.

Steven Cheung, communications director for the Trump presidential campaign, previously disputed the characterization of the article in a statement to CNBC, saying, "President Trump was warmly received by everyone in the room and was commended for his policy proposals on deregulation and tax cuts."

Trump and President Joe Biden, the presumptive Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, are preparing to face off in a debate on June 27, marking the first time the two candidates will do so in this presidential cycle.

Both candidates have faced questions about their age throughout the 2024 campaign, with each candidate saying they are capable of serving another four years as president if elected in November.

Update 6/19/24, 12:21 a.m. ET: This article's headline was updated to clarify that Trump shared a report that cited the "Bunch of BS" line.

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