The turbulence began Tuesday morning with one of President-elect Donald Trump’s signature tweets of wrath: a public jab at Boeing alleging that the cost of building Air Force One had spiraled out of control.
That came an hour after Boeing’s chief executive was quoted questioning Trump’s stance on trade.
In the afternoon, Trump directed his attention elsewhere, taking credit in a surprise announcement for a Japanese conglomerate’s months-old pledge to invest $50 billion in the United States.
In the raucous hours in between, a top Trump aide announced offhandedly that, months before, Trump had sold his entire stock portfolio, which some ethics advisers had worried could raise questions about conflicts of interest during his presidency.
It was a day of big pronouncements and few details, leaving many wondering whether this would be the unusual and unpredictable way that Trump will govern when he takes office next month.
That style, including his opaque personal financial dealings and his sudden shots at certain companies, has helped unnerve a corporate America that traditionally craves stability. Some business leaders and economists have worried whether executives can speak their minds about the president-elect or his policies without fear of facing Trump’s rage.
“Twisting people’s arms is inherently problematic” for a president, said N. Gregory Mankiw, a professor of economics at Harvard who served as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush.
But some defended Trump’s highly visible way of doing business in his transition to the Oval Office. Lanhee Chen, policy director of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, who is now at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, said he was not terribly concerned by Trump’s interactions with individual corporations and chief executives.
“I just assume this is what generally happens,” Chen said.
Trump spokesmen did not explain why he had targeted Boeing and did not provide other details. But they contributed to the confusion, by claiming Tuesday morning that Trump had in June sold a stock portfolio that by last year was worth up to $40 million.
The sale of Trump’s shares in big banks, oil conglomerates and other companies with business before the government would have netted Trump millions of dollars during his costly presidential campaign. It also could help him tamp down worries over conflicts of interest between his private holdings and public job.
But beyond spokesman Jason Miller’s comments Tuesday to The Washington Post, Trump representatives have not provided records of stock transactions or other details since a financial-disclosure filing released in May.
Over the past five months, Trump campaign officials gave no indication of the stock sale. Trump has also refused to release his tax returns, which would provide more detailed information about his financial holdings.