• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Despite having a $165 million net worth, Scarlett Johansson says work-life balance doesn’t exist—and the first step to success is admitting that

2

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

3

Current price of oil as of May 15, 2026

1

Despite having a $165 million net worth, Scarlett Johansson says work-life balance doesn’t exist—and the first step to success is admitting that

2

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

3

Current price of oil as of May 15, 2026
TechDonald Trump

Robert Reich Accuses Donald Trump Of Behaving Like a Sociopath

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 8, 2017, 3:59 PM ET

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich believes President Donald Trump is behaving more like a sociopath than a narcissist when it comes to his personality.

Reich, who served during the Clinton administration, said Wednesday that Trump’s recent executive orders barring certain immigrants, his criticism of a federal judge who blocked it, attacks on the press, and peddling of unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud are dangerous.

He made his comments at the NewCo conference in San Francisco, where he also explained that tech companies must be more politically active if they are going to make changes to benefit society as a whole. The technology industry’s overwhelming opposition to President Trump’s executive order on immigration is a good start, he said, but there’s much more these companies can do to influence the new administration.

Instead of only lobbying on behalf of economic or trade policies that impact their own bottom line, tech companies could push to help ordinary Americans who feel forgotten by politicians, Reich said. He cited the need for a universal basic income, which he believes would provide citizens with a minimum amount of money to live off of. Reich has previously written that companies that stand to profit from technology that lead to job loss could help fund a universal basic income.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Reich first realized the public’s discontent with the economic system and both politics during the fall of 2015 while visiting farmers in Missouri who supported either Bernie Sanders or Trump. The farmers saw these two candidates as political outsiders and voiced anger at big agriculture and fertilizer companies like Monsanto.

He felt similar resentment in places like Cincinnati and Michigan, where residents were still outraged about the federal bailout of banks in response to the 2008 financial crisis. Both the farmers and citizens in blue-collared cities felt that the government was catering to big companies instead of them, he explained.

The tech industry could also create tools to help citizens keep track of the complex web of government programs and insurance policies they might not be aware of, Reich said. These tools, he imagines, would give citizens everything they need to maintain a decent standard of living.

Asked about the fear of some citizens about artificial intelligence and automation killing jobs, Reich said that tech companies should push Washington on policies that would help displaced workers in the future. One of the policies he suggests involves a federal policy that guarantees that displaced workers get new jobs within six months that pay as much as the jobs they lost.

For more about Trump and the tech industry, watch:

These policies may sound “big governy,” Reich said, but they could help alleviate the anger and fear by helping people share in some of the prosperity enjoyed by elite and those in power. If the current economic system is not changed, “Trump is just the beginnings of our problems,” Reich said.

Reich also said he visited Google (GOOG) last week when thousands of employees protested Trump’s executive order banning immigration to seven Muslim majority countries. That protest was significant because employees were calling on their own executives to take a stand against policies they don’t agree with, he said.

“What is happening for the first time,” Reich said, is that “a lot of companies are pushed not by politics and their bottom line, but by employees and customers.”

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

bhaskar
Economydisruption
The prophet of the ‘Wired Belt’ says capitalism is finally eating itself
By Bhaskar ChakravortiMay 16, 2026
1 hour ago
lawyer
CommentaryLaw
Would you hire the lawyer who just got sanctioned for using AI?
By Alexandra SmythMay 16, 2026
1 hour ago
connor vukelich
Future of WorkGen Z
Meet the 20-year-old CEO who launched a company in high school to solve Gen Z’s entry-level job crisis
By Jake AngeloMay 16, 2026
3 hours ago
IDEO invented ‘human-centered design.’ Can it survive an AI world where everything looks the same?
Asiadesign thinking
IDEO invented ‘human-centered design.’ Can it survive an AI world where everything looks the same?
By Nicholas GordonMay 16, 2026
5 hours ago
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., left, and US President Donald Trump during a dinner with tech leaders in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. US President Donald Trump said he would be imposing tariffs on semiconductor imports "very shortly" but spare goods from companies like Apple Inc. that have pledged to boost their US investments. Photographer: Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Big TechDonald Trump
How Trump’s ‘unusual’ brokerage account traded around his own market-moving decisions—selling hyperscalers and buying energy stocks during the war
By Eva RoytburgMay 15, 2026
12 hours ago
Berkshire triples Alphabet stake and buys Delta stock while dumping Amazon in Greg Abel’s first quarter as CEO
InvestingBerkshire Hathaway
Berkshire triples Alphabet stake and buys Delta stock while dumping Amazon in Greg Abel’s first quarter as CEO
By Josh Funk and The Associated PressMay 15, 2026
12 hours ago

Most Popular

Despite having a $165 million net worth, Scarlett Johansson says work-life balance doesn’t exist—and the first step to success is admitting that
Success
Despite having a $165 million net worth, Scarlett Johansson says work-life balance doesn’t exist—and the first step to success is admitting that
By Preston ForeMay 13, 2026
3 days ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
4 days ago
Current price of oil as of May 15, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 15, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 15, 2026
23 hours ago
Nearly 50,000 Lake Tahoe residents have to find a new power source after their energy source looks to redirect lines to data centers
Travel & Leisure
Nearly 50,000 Lake Tahoe residents have to find a new power source after their energy source looks to redirect lines to data centers
By Catherina GioinoMay 12, 2026
4 days ago
The airplane fuel shortage is a myth propagated by airlines who want to cancel unprofitable flights, says private jet CEO
Energy
The airplane fuel shortage is a myth propagated by airlines who want to cancel unprofitable flights, says private jet CEO
By Jim EdwardsMay 14, 2026
2 days ago
Top economist says $39 trillion national debt leaves government worse prepared for recession than ever
Economy
Top economist says $39 trillion national debt leaves government worse prepared for recession than ever
By Eva RoytburgMay 14, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.