Donald Trump’s populism is causing corporate donors to lose interest
Republicans are tired of socially conscious American companies and are chanting “GO WOKE, GO broke.” However, it is the politicians who are suffering the consequences of their ideological fervor. In 2000 and 2004, corporate political-action committees (PACs) gave twice as much to Republicans as they did to Democrats. After splitting donations evenly between the two parties in 2008, they once again favored Republican candidates in 2012 and 2016, by a margin of nearly two to one. CEOs of firms in the S&P 1500 index also leaned heavily towards the right, with two-thirds of their giving directed to conservative causes between 2000 and 2017.
In the 2019-20 election cycle, corporate PAC donations to Republicans dropped by 25% compared to four years earlier. This decline can be attributed to donors’ dissatisfaction with the party’s populist shift away from trade, immigration, and international cooperation. Following the storming of the Capitol by Mr. Trump’s supporters on January 6th, 2021, dozens of companies ceased donations to Republican lawmakers who voted against certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 election win. According to Jeffrey Sonnenfeld of the Yale School of Management, more than three-quarters of these firms were still withholding donations a year later.
Preliminary figures indicate that this will be another disappointing year for Republican fundraisers. Data from the Federal Election Commission shows that in the first 11 months of this presidential cycle, Republicans received a third less from corporate PACs than in 2020 and half as much as in 2016. Comcast and Northrop Grumman have reduced their donations by a third since 2020, while ExxonMobil has cut its contributions in half. Top-spending trade groups, such as the National Beer Wholesalers Association and the National Association of Realtors, have also given Republicans less than four years ago.
2024-01-18 06:02:04
Original from www.economist.com