Ken Langone Sees A Much Bigger Problem Than The Debt Ceiling
Ken Langone popped by CNBC earlier this morning to guest host Squawk Box with Becky, Joe and Andrew Ross Sorkin. Is he worried about the debt ceiling? No. "It's a done deal," Langone told the gang. "They don't know it yet, but it's taken care of." There is something Ken is losing sleep over, however, and it's the fact that President Obama doesn't always wear a jacket in the Oval Office.
Langone told CNBC that Obama's behavior has been "unpresidential." "He is dividing us as a nation," Langone said. "He's not bringing us together. He's willfully dividing us. He's petulant." The co-founder of Home Depot sharply criticized the president for promoting class warfare through his repeated attacks against "fat cat" business executives and his targeting of tax loopholes. In sum, the behavior is symptomatic of Obama's disrespect for the office he holds, Langone said.
"Ronald Reagan would never go into the Oval Office without his jacket on—that's how much he revered the presidency," he said. "This guy worked like hell to be president...Behave like a president. Let me look at you as a model to how we should behave. What does he say? Fat cats, jet airplanes. What is the purpose? Us versus them. "The thing I fear the most about the future of America is...divide us, we all lose. This has got to stop."
If Obama wants to show us he cares about America at all he can start with a trip to Brooks Brothers today.
Ken Langone: Debt Ceiling Done Deal (Video) [CNBC]
Langone: Obama 'Unpresidential,' 'Petulant' 'Dividing Us' [CNBC]