--- 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: 2026-05-11T05:01:41.896Z 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=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 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=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump Calls Rising CEO Pay a 'Complete Joke' by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Sep 14, 2015 1:23 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump greets fans tailgating outside Jack Trice Stadium before the start of the Iowa State University versus University of Iowa football game on September 12, 2015 in Ames, Iowa. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump greets fans tailgating outside Jack Trice Stadium before the start of the Iowa State University versus University of Iowa football game on September 12, 2015 in Ames, Iowa.Scott Olson—Getty Images 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 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4033186/donald-trump-ceo-pay/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4033186/donald-trump-ceo-pay/"},"headline":"Donald Trump Calls Rising CEO Pay a 'Complete Joke'","datePublished":"2015-09-14T13:23:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:01:41.896Z","description":"Donald Trump said Sunday in an interview with CBS that ballooning CEO pay is \"a total and complete joke\"","url":"https://time.com/4033186/donald-trump-ceo-pay/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt043aa5338a71918d/698863740a4a223d8a9c60d6/gettyimages-487928876.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt043aa5338a71918d/698863740a4a223d8a9c60d6/gettyimages-487928876.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GOP Candidates Attend Tailgate Parties Before Iowa v Iowa State College Football Game","caption":"GOP Candidates Attend Tailgate Parties Before Iowa v Iowa State College Football Game","creditText":"Scott Olson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4033186/donald-trump-ceo-pay/","name":"Donald Trump Calls Rising CEO Pay a 'Complete Joke'"}}]}] ```