WHAT'S BAD FOR AMERICA IS BAD FOR GENERAL MOTORS:

Frequent GOP donor Seth Klarman, CEO of $30 billion Baupost Group hedge fund, had already warned his investors about Trump's protectionist policies and the deficits his tax plan would produce. But at Robin Hood, Klarman -- who is widely revered in investing circles -- offered a much harsher assessment of Trump to his peers.

"The president is a threat to democracy. He has attacked journalists and he's threatening to take away NBC's license," Klarman said, according to an audio recording of his remarks. "He's attacking judges. He's violating all sorts of democratic norms, from the emoluments clause to questioning the election and threatening to lock up his opponent. People don't focus on this but Nazi Germany had a constitution before Hitler came to power and at the end of the war they had the exact same constitution. It lasted all the way through, but democracy didn't."

Klarman continued: "The country is getting divided, whether it's immigrants, whether it's transgender people, whether it's blacks, whether it's Mexicans. It's awful."

Seven months ago, Sternlicht was on CNBC talking about how Trump's moves were inspiring the business community -- but that wasn't his message last week. Sternlicht wryly noted that he was waiting for Trump's promises to materialize, noting that "deregulation has not really taken place yet" and "we haven't seen much in the way of infrastructure spending." Sternlicht, whose Miami-based Starwood Capital Group is opening a new chain of high-end hotels (including One New York and One Brooklyn) with the message to visitors to "live green," also said Trump's "stance on the environment is just inconceivable to me."

As a real-estate investor, Sternlicht thinks about future demographic trends, and that's another area where Trump worries him. The president's immigration views will hurt growth, he said, noting that the one million refugees Angela Merkel let into Germany are revitalizing the economy there. "It's amazing; there's no angst," he said. "They reworking. They own soccer teams. They are in stores. That's why Angela Merkel let them in. She needed the labor."

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