CHARLIE MUNGER: I've mellowed on Trump and he's 'not wrong on everything'
Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK-A, BRK-B) vice chairman, Charlie Munger, has mellowed on President Donald J. Trump.
Munger, 93, a Republican and a billionaire, said a year ago at the Daily Journal’s (DJCO) annual meeting that Trump was not “morally qualified” to be president of the United States.
“Well, I’ve gotten more mellow,” Munger said at the Daily Journal’s 2017 meeting on Wednesday, adding, “I always try to think about the good as long as it’s not good.”
He went on to note that Trump is “not wrong on everything.” Specifically, Munger praised Trump for not wanting to touch Social Security.
“And when Donald Trump says he wouldn’t touch Social Security and Republicans have all kinds of schemes for revising Social Security — I’m with Donald Trump. If I were running the world … I wouldn’t touch [Social Security],” Munger said.
He added: “He’s not wrong on everything. And just because he isn’t like us, roll with it. If there’s a little danger, what the hell, you’re not going to live forever anyway.”
After the Q&A, Munger stayed around for more questions from students and investment professionals.
When Yahoo Finance asked Munger to weigh in on the protests and boycotts against companies that have ties to Trump, particularly retailers, he responded:
“I don’t like all that. Basically, I’m not in favor of young people agitating and trying to change the whole world because they know so much. I think young people should learn more and shop less, so I’m not sympathetic to anybody. Young people are out in the streets agitating—that’s not my system. I think if you’ve got Hitler or something you can agitate. But short of that, young people should learn more and shop less.”
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Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.
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