--- title: Donald Trump Call CEO Pay a "Complete Joke" description: Donald Trump said Sunday in an interview with CBS that ballooning CEO pay is "a total and complete joke" canonical: https://time.com/4033186/donald-trump-ceo-pay/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-14T13:23:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:31:58.498Z article:section: Politics og:title: Donald Trump Call CEO Pay a "Complete Joke" og:description: Donald Trump said Sunday in an interview with CBS that ballooning CEO pay is "a total and complete joke" og:url: https://time.com/4033186/donald-trump-ceo-pay/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt043aa5338a71918d/698863740a4a223d8a9c60d6/gettyimages-487928876.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: GOP Candidates Attend Tailgate Parties Before Iowa v Iowa State College Football Game og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump Call CEO Pay a "Complete Joke" twitter:description: Donald Trump said Sunday in an interview with CBS that ballooning CEO pay is "a total and complete joke" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt043aa5338a71918d/698863740a4a223d8a9c60d6/gettyimages-487928876.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump Calls Rising CEO Pay a 'Complete Joke' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=6bf1f5aa-5a2f-4b53-85c0-e11b29238338&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Highlights from Donald Trump's Presidential Announcement [Watch (HLS stream): Highlights from Donald Trump's Presidential Announcement](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zZCJ6BIH.m3u8) (1:47)  _Published 2015-06-16. Highlights from Donald Trump's announcement to run for president._ by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Sep 14, 2015 1:23 PM UTC by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Sep 14, 2015 1:23 PM UTC Donald Trump said Sunday in an interview with CBS that ballooning CEO pay is “a total and complete joke,” sounding a populist tone as he continues to stir up the Republican base in his run for president. “It does bug me. It’s very hard if you have a free enterprise system to do anything about that,” the Republican presidential frontrunner [told CBS’ _Face the Nation_](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-on-ceo-pay-its-a-complete-joke/) Sunday when asked about CEO pay. “You know the boards of companies are supposed to do it but I know companies very well and the CEO puts in all his friends…and they get whatever they want you know because their friends love sitting on the board.” Trump takes some unorthodox views that set him apart from traditional Republicans, railing against free trade deals and the notion of cutting Medicare and Social Security. He once supported a single-payer healthcare system. The real estate mogul and billionaire has been leading the Republican field for nearly two months, inspiring restive voters with his hardline immigration stance—he has called for the deportation of all illegal immigrants—and perceived willingness to tell unvarnished truths. \[[_CBS_](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-on-ceo-pay-its-a-complete-joke/)\] ### See Donald Trump Hanging Out With Unlikely Celebrities  Donald Trump, owner of New York's Trump Tower, holds the bridle of a polo pony while talking to Andy Warhol on Nov. 4, 1983. Mario Suriani—AP  Donald Trump, Don King and Barbara Walters on Dec. 12, 1987. Ron Galella—Getty Images  Professional Wrestler Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant With Donald Trump. Russell Turiak—Getty Images  Heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, his wife, actress Robin Givens and Donald Trump, leave the New York State Supreme Court building on July 22, 1988. Charles Wenzelberg—AP  Developer Donald Trump is flanked by super middleweight champion Thomas Hearns, left, of Detroit, and Michael Olajide of Canada at a news conference in New York on Feb. 15, 1990. Timothy Clary—AP  Alec Baldwin is joined by Donald Trump and Melania Knauss at benefit for the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund at the Marriott Marquis Hotel on October 8, 1999. Richard Corkery—NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images  Katie Couric, left, co-host of NBC-TV's "Today" show, is dressed like Donald Trump, right, during a spoof of his "The Apprentice" reality television show, on the morning program's annual Halloween segment on Oct. 29, 2004. Richard Drew—AP  Donald Trump and Larry King arrive at the Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump in New York on March 9, 2011. Charles Sykes—AP  Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, left, and Donald Trump appear onstage at the Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump in New York on March 9, 2011. Charles Sykes—AP  Snoop Dogg and Donald Trump arrive at the Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump in New York on March 9, 2011. Charles Sykes—AP  Martha Stewart and Donald Trump at Richard "Skip" Bronson's, "The War at the Shore" Book Publication Party held at Loews Regency Hotel in New York City on June 11, 2012. Sylvain Gaboury—Sipa USA  Tiger Woods stands with Donald Trump as he holds the Gene Serazen Cup for winning the Cadillac Championship golf tournament on March 10, 2013, in Doral, Fla. Wilfredo Lee—AP  Donald Trump and recording artist and host Nick Jonas joke around onstage during the 2013 Miss USA pageant at PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on June 16, 2013 in Las Vegas. Ethan Miller—Getty Images ## Transcript Ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running [ APPLAUSE ] for President of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again. [ APPLAUSE ] When Mexico sends it's people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some I assume are good people. But I speak to Border Guards. And they tell us what we're getting. We need a leader that can bring back our jobs, can bring back our manufacturing, can bring back our military. Can take care of our vets. Our vets have been abandoned. [ APPLAUSE ] And we also need a cheerleader. You know, when President Obama was elected I said, well the one thing I think he'll do well, I think he'll be a great cheerleader For the Country. I think he would be a great spirit. He was vibrant, I really thought that he would be a great cheerleader. I don't anybody's money. It's nice. I don't need anybody's money. I am using my own money. I am not using the lobbyist, I am not using donor's, I don't care. I am really rich. I assure you that. And by the way I am not even saying that, to [ UNKNOWN ]. That is the kind of mindset, that is the kind of thinking you need for this country. 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