There’s a lot about the early days of Trump administration that Bob Nardelli likes.
But what the former CEO of Home Depot and Chrysler really likes is the pace of change in the nation’s capital.
“Washington can’t slow him down,” said Nardelli in an interview with CNN’s Christine Romans. “Washington has to catch up. It’s no different than business.”
Nardelli said he’s particularly happy with how much Trump has done to engage with the business community, meeting regularly with chief executives from different industries, such as autos, airlines, manufacturing and retail.
“I’ve been in a lot of different businesses over the years, so I’m encouraged” with the rate of change. “We can’t let Washington change that momentum.”
And while President Trump’s style and tweets have roiled some in Washington, Nardelli said he sees in Trump the kind of leader the country needs.
“I think he’s really leading like a CEO. It’s his background, it’s what he’s done. It’s his comfort zone and he has to grow into being presidential,” he said. And he’s not worried about the criticism that Trump has received from in the early days of his administration.
“I mean no one is going to agree with everything that’s being done right now,” he said. “People who do things make mistakes. They never make the biggest mistake of all, which is doing nothing.”