If President Donald Trump is able to keep defying expectations — like he did in the election — and push through legislative changes against great odds, he could go down as "one of our greatest presidents ever," Ken Langone told CNBC on Monday.
Langone, a longtime Republican supporter and the billionaire co-founder of Home Depot, said the Trump presidency offers the GOP, which also controls the House and the Senate, a unique time to deliver on the reasons Americans voted for a political outsider for the White House.
Voters are "fed up," Langone said on "Squawk Box." "They did a very dramatic, earth-shattering thing," and now want results, he said.
Read more from the Langone interview:
- 'I can't be more excited about a border tax'
- Preet Bharara did a 'fabulous' job and hopes he runs for governor or mayor
Langone warned the Republicans that they could lose their majorities in the House and the Senate if lawmakers fail to seize this Trump-created opportunity. "We own the next 25 years as a nation [if we act]."
"If you guys don't get your guys into a room and say 'Guys this is our moment.' The American people will throw you out too, the next time," he warned House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy who also appeared as a guest Monday on "Squawk Box."
"[Trump] has the capacity to go down as one of our greatest presidents ever" if he's able to bring about big changes in health care, tax cuts and $1 trillion of infrastructure upgrades, Langone said.
"The American people elected him president, in my mind, for one reason: they don't want incremental change. They want major change," said Langone, founder and CEO of investment bank Invemed Associates, specializing in health-care and high-technology companies
The Home Depot co-founder also came out in favor of the House GOP's border adjustment tax provision to help pay for their overall effort to cut corporate taxes.
Many retailers are against the idea of taxing imports, saying it will force them to raise prices.
But Langone argued that retailers, like Home Depot, would be better off in the long term if they're able to "think beyond the next quarter or the next six months."