Mob Violence Is Bad for Business

I’ve been thinking a lot these past few days about the National Association of Manufacturers’ incredible statement in the wake of the mob attack on the U.S. Capitol this week. I say incredible not because I disagree with any of the sentiments, but incredible that it had to come to this: A normally staid and conservatively aligned business group felt the need to call upon the vice president and cabinet to “seriously consider” removing President Donald Trump from office through the 25th Amendment.

The crux of the statement is not really about manufacturing but democracy itself, and how vital institutions and rule of law are to the continued operation of business and markets. “This is chaos. It is mob rule. It is dangerous,” NAM Chief Executive Officer Jay Timmons said in the statement. “This is sedition and should be treated as such. The outgoing president incited violence in an attempt to retain power, and any elected leader defending him is violating their oath to the Constitution and rejecting democracy in favor of anarchy.” Attempted coups are, quite simply, bad for business. NAM isn’t exactly a bastion of progressivism: It advocated aggressively for the Trump tax cuts in 2017 and in 2020 named Ivanka Trump the inaugural recipient of the association’s Alexander Hamilton Award honoring those who have made “exceptional contributions” to U.S. manufacturing. But it’s been fast approaching the breaking point of its tolerance for Trump’s antics: Timmons in April said protestors who were pushing to reopen the economy were “idiots” and earlier this month urged Congress do its duty and certify the election results.