About Bob Nardelli
Bob Nardelli, founder of XLR-8 and former CEO of Home Depot and Chrysler, has been a frequent commentator on economic and political issues. In April 2025, he praised the Trump administration's approach, stating he believes it is "reshaping the global economy" and having a "good impact on it initially." He described the administration's style as requiring "100 one-day plans" instead of a 100-day plan, emphasizing flexibility and agility. Nardelli also criticized the prior administration, attributing increases in operating costs to "40% wage increases" and policies he referred to as an "energy surrender."
In earlier appearances, Nardelli compared the economic records of President Biden and former President Trump, saying "Biden's used to signing the back of a check and President Trump's used to signing the front of the check." He characterized Trump's proposed corporate tax plan as "creative" and "encouraging localization," and argued that tariffs, when used as a practice rather than a policy, were effective in bringing China to the negotiating table. Nardelli also stated that the Teamsters' decision not to endorse a Democratic candidate was a "big message" for the party, reflecting concerns about families' economic well-being.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Bob Nardelli's recent appearances.
Browse all interviews →
Transcript (6 segments)
D
David0:00
Well, former President Trump surprised a lot of people yesterday by proposing a 15% corporate tax rate for companies that make their products here in the US. I want to get reaction from former Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli. Bob, great to see you again. Thanks for being here.
B
Bob Nardelli0:16
Yeah, the thing that I really like about this plan is you're not being penalized if you have to buy stuff abroad. I mean, a lot of companies obviously couldn't do that. You'd still be taxed at the 21% corporate tax rate, which is a lot lower than what Kamala Harris is proposing. She'd go up to 28%. But you are free to choose if you want that bonus of paying 15% if you buy American. It's that, to use that phrase of Milton Friedman, you're free to choose. You're not going to be penalized, but you would be incentivized to buy American. Do you like the plan?
Yeah, well David, you've had a great show so far. No lack of issues for sure. But I think the plan that he proposed has a lot of merit to it. It really is encouraging localization, if I could use that term. The other party is proposing heavier corporate taxes, and I've lived through this before, David. I've lived through seven recessions, and when you increase those corporate taxes, you basically force an offshoring strategy because you have to compete on a global scale. So I think he's very creative with this plan. And again, there's a lot of questions about tariffs out there, and President Trump really used tariffs quite effectively, I think, not as a policy but as a practice. He did get China's attention and got them to the table, and they had a fair negotiation about making sure the quid pro quo of trade in, trade out, and affecting GDP. So this is yet another creative idea, as many of what he's proposing in his campaign, and certainly challenges the other party as to the legitimacy and the common sense of some of the things that they're proposing given where we are, and particularly some of the numbers we saw today, David.
D
David1:57
Now, Kamala Harris's campaign has attacked the president's plan, or the former president's plan, on tariffs, saying that they would create inflation. And there's some merit to that idea. You look at Milton Friedman's works on tariffs, and they pretty much confirm a lot of that. However, he used it as you said, in a reciprocal fashion. He wasn't willy-nilly throwing tariffs on everything. If China came out with a 75% tariff against cars, he would do the same, and that got them to close it down a little bit. And as far as inflation is concerned, inflation stayed about the same during his entire administration.
B
Bob Nardelli2:43
Yeah, I think tariffs that create trade wars, just like price wars, and I've lived through all of those, are not a good thing. But if you use it in practice, not policy, like he did, it's exactly what you said. He got us to the table. Now, the tariff on EVs quite honestly sounds great, but the US consumer put their own tariffs on EVs coming out of China. They just don't want them. They're not buying them. So I'm not sure the real impact on increased prices and so forth is going to have a basis there. If you look at BMW, for example, they were displaced in China by BYD, and you look at VW, they're pulling back. You look at what happened here in the US, Ford and Jim Farley had to write off about $6 billion. Mary Barra let off about a thousand employees, still on 2,500. So the EVs will happen, but it has to be an evolution, i.e., hybrid, versus a revolution, pure EV. And when the other administration talks about we're going to be all EV on the road, David, there's 290 million fossil fuel cars on the road today. No one, someone asked the second question like you do, what happens to all when you talk about all EVs? How do you get rid of 290 million cars? The average age is now 12.6 years.
D
David3:57
Right, right. It's incredible. And of course, the McKinsey study showing that EV drivers are more likely to buy a gas car than they were before. I mean, there are great EVs out there, don't get me wrong. It's just you can't force people to buy what they don't want. Bob, great to see you. Thank you so much for being here. Bob Nardelli, the great Bob Nardelli.
