Americans are tired of CEOs lecturing them on politics

In today’s CEO Daily: Americans’ demand for CEO activism is fading.

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Good morning. Phil Wahba here, writing from New York. A few years ago, the general public expected American CEOs to chime in on the social issues of the day, from gun control to racial diversity to gay rights. Tesla CEO Elon Musk famously attacked DEI efforts, while Levi’s former CEO was vocal about curbing gun violence, and Starbucks’ founder once encouraged customers to ask baristas about race relations.

Now, many Americans across the political spectrum have grown tired of all that discourse, and chief executives, many bruised from being dragged into the culture wars and attacked by activists, are likely relieved to step down from their soapboxes.

A new nationwide survey of 2,800 Americans by the Stanford University School of Business found that about 55% of Americans think CEOs of large corporations should advocate for social and political issues, down significantly from the 65% who did in 2018 when Stanford last conducted the survey. When CEOs do speak up, Americans want them to comment on issues directly related to their business.

Stanford professor David Larcker, an author of the report, attributes the pullback to the public growing tired of politics seeping into every facet of American........

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