CEOs across the country, from Under Armour (ticker: UA, UAA) CEO Kevin Plank to Tesla Motors (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, are having difficulty navigating the political climate amid potentially conflicting business interests.
Plank referred to President Donald Trump as a “real asset for the country” in a CNBC interview Feb. 7, Fortune notes, sending both social media and Under Armour athletes into a tizzy. Golden State Warriors player and Under Armour endorser Steph Curry went so far as telling the San Jose Mercury News, “I agree with the description, if you remove the ‘et’ from asset.”
Under Armour’s issues speak to today’s complex political and business climate. Any action could affect many stakeholders, from customers to analysts to the Trump administration itself. Trump often has business leaders to the White House for policy and exploratory talks and CEOs are eager to wield some influence, but they also risk alienating the divided electorate if they are seen either as a Trump ally or foe.
Consumers have retaliated against Trump-associated companies, most evidently via the #GrabYourWallet campaign that lists prominent companies like Macy’s ( M) and Amazon.com ( AMZN). Campaigns have also started on the other side of the debate, with people using the hashtag #BoycottStarbucks after Starbucks (SBUX) said it planned to hire 10,000 refugees over five years.
A #DeleteUber campaign was ignited after the company sent drivers to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport (but turned off surge pricing) amid a temporary work stoppage by New York taxi drivers protesting Trump’s immigration ban.
Criticism of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick prompted him to leave Trump’s business advisory council, Business Insider reports. Musk says he will stay on the council, and that he “and others will express our objections to the recent executive order on immigration and offer suggestions for changes to the policy. Advisory councils simply provide advice and attending does not mean that I agree with actions by the administration.”
Musk has spoken out against Trump’s immigrant ban, as have many CEOs, including Twitter’s (TWTR) Jack Dorsey and Apple’s (AAPL) Tim Cook. Musk sent several tweets Wednesday again calling out the ban, including one that read “The Muslim immigration ban is not right.” He later deleted them and claimed “they were earlier drafts that I accidentally published. I said the same thing a week already.” The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a stay on the ban last week.
@Samcornwell they were earlier drafts that I accidentally published. I said the same thing a week already.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)
He tweeted these statements in late January:
The blanket entry ban on citizens from certain primarily Muslim countries is not the best way to address the country’s challenges
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)
Many people negatively affected by this policy are strong supporters of the US. They’ve done right,not wrong & don’t deserve to be rejected.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)
As for Under Armour’s continued pushback, it said in a statement Feb. 10 following Plank’s comments, “we engage in policy, not politics.” Plank also wrote a letter to the city of Baltimore via an ad in The Baltimore Sun. “We stand firmly for equal rights. We believe that immigration is a source of strength, diversity and innovation for global companies based in America like Under Armour,” the letter reads. Adweek points out Plank doesn’t mention Trump’s name in the letter.
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CEOs Struggle to Navigate the Trump Era originally appeared on usnews.com
