Elections

Donald Trump not the right person to lead US, billionaire Richard Branson says

Branson: Trump not the right person to lead US
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Branson: Trump not the right person to lead US

British billionaire Richard Branson isn't rooting for Republican nominee Donald Trump to become the next president of the United States.

The founder of the Virgin Group told CNBC's "Power Lunch" on Tuesday the U.S. would certainly benefit from having an entrepreneur run the country, but said Trump is not the right one.

"I've listened to what he had to say and I think what he's had to say is dangerous and hurtful," he said. "He's not a good listener. He's not somebody, I think, who can get a great team of people around him to run this country. He's had a lot of disaster with his companies."

Branson endorsed Hillary Clinton for president last week in a blog post. In it, he wrote that a "Donald Trump presidency would be a disaster."

"Great entrepreneurs build businesses with purpose at their heart and always treat people with respect. These are not characteristics I see in Mr Trump — neither in his previous business dealings, nor in this campaign," he wrote in the blog post.

Branson told CNBC that he has met Trump and had an "extraordinary lunch" with him.

"I remember leaving thinking I couldn't just quite believe what I heard during the lunch," he said, without going into details.

On the other hand, Branson said he a good discussion on issues when he had lunch with Clinton.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.