Home Depot co-founder torches ‘woke’ Silicon Valley Bank collapse, warns recession may be here already

Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus issued a strong warning for everyday Americans.

During an appearance on "Cavuto Live," Marcus discussed the devastating collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, urging Americans to "wake up" and understand that the U.S. economy is in "tough times."

"I can't wait for Biden to get on the speech again and talk about how great the economy is and how it's moving forward and getting stronger by the day. And this is an indication that whatever he says is not true. And maybe the American people will finally wake up and understand that we're living in very tough times, that, in fact, that a recession may have already started. Who knows? But it doesn't look good," Marcus argued, Saturday.

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"I feel bad for all of these people that lost all their money in this woke bank. You know, it was more distressing to hear that the bank officials sold off their stock before this happened. It's depressing to me. Who knows whether the Justice Department would go after them? They're a woke company, so I guess not. And they'll probably get away with it," he said to host Neil Cavuto.

"It's pathetic that so many people lost money that won't get it back"

— Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus

The closure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was announced by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on Friday, marking the worst U.S. financial institution failure in nearly 15 years. 

SVB was the 16th largest bank in the United States until Friday afternoon. It failed after anxious depositors rushed to withdraw money over concern for the bank's health.

Marcus attributed the historic downfall to the Biden administration and its persistent push for banks to prioritize "global warming" over shareholder returns. 

People are struggling. People can't pay their bills, they can't fill their tanks with gas.

— Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus

"I think that the system, that the administration has pushed many of these banks into [being] more concerned about global warming than they do about shareholder return. And these banks are badly run because everybody is focused on diversity and all of the woke issues and not concentrating on the one thing they should, which is, shareholder returns," Marcus continued.

"Instead of protecting the shareholders and their employees, they are more concerned about the social policies. And I think it's probably a badly run bank. They've been there for a lot of years. It's pathetic that so many people lost money that won't get it back."

The former CEO concluded by issuing a grim economic warning to consumers, arguing that the Biden administration is "obtuse" to the problems that plague everyday Americans.

"The Fed keeps raising rates and inflation keeps going in the wrong direction. It's not staying where it should be. People are struggling. People can't pay their bills. They can't fill their tanks with gas. And if you think that's a good sign, I don't think it is. And we have an administration that's obtuse to this. They just keep talking about the great times and how good it is. It's not good," Marcus concluded.

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"Somebody with a sane head has to come in and understand that you can't do two things. Number one, you can't keep raising rates. You can't keep inflation as strong as it is. And you can't tax people more than they are.[Biden's] proposal to tax the middle class and the rich is about as dumb as I've heard it a long time. In a recession like this, you don't do things like that."

FOX Business' Aislinn Murphy contributed to this report.