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The extreme nature of the insurrection of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6 requires that all actors involved be held accountable.
The GOP has historically been viewed as the “pro-business” party, crafting a policy agenda which favors the interests of the private sector rather than that of the average American.
In the week following one of the darkest days in contemporary U.S. history, the corporate world began to respond with its own calls for accountability. Companies like Starbucks, Axe, and Chevron all released statements on social media condemning the insurrection. The National Association of Manufacturers, a business lobbying group that has long been an ally of the Trump Administration, even released a statement calling for the President to be removed from office by invoking the Twenty-fifth Amendment.
An ever-increasing list of business groups and companies—including the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Best Buy, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Verizon—have cut ties with both the Trump Administration and the 147 lawmakers who voted to contest the results of the 2020 election.
Corporate America’s public condemnation of the Capitol insurrection is not the only avenue toward accountability; responsibility also lies both within Congress and at the ballot box for millions of Americans. Rather, the corporate response to the insurrection bears examination: Is it part of a growing culture of accountability, or just another way to pursue positive branding and maximize profits?
The Cut columnist Rebecca Traister discusses how the Trump Administration’s reprehensible actions over the past four years have catalyzed many to get involved in politics and activism for the first time. She concludes that, while for many this political “awakening was sudden, bracing, and extremely rude,” the current stakes are too high for a return to political unconsciousness following the Inauguration of Joe Biden.
This goes hand-in-hand with an increased desire for accountability in politics. Many Americans have realized that positive change will not happen unless those responsible for political evils face consequences for their actions.
An average of polls conducted by FiveThirtyEight found that 52.9 percent of Americans support removing Trump from office.
Furthermore, a number of organizations representing public interests, ranging from the NAACP to the ACLU, called for Trump’s impeachment before the House voted on January 13. Protesters have also called for the resignation of those in Congress who publicly supported the overturning of the results from the 2020 election, including U.S. Senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz.
The private sector is no stranger to weighing in on newsworthy events, especially when the event involves a company in some way. The reason Axe, for instance, responded to the U.S. Capitol riot was because of a photo of an Axe body spray bottle lying among the destruction at the Capitol on Twitter. As Vox journalist Meredith Haggerty notes, “It is common, if not standard, operating procedure for a brand to issue a statement and distance itself when it’s found at the scene of a news event.”
But Haggerty also notes that, while brands have historically remained apolitical, the increasing culture of political activism outlined by Traister has not simply presented businesses with the opportunity to use newsworthy events for good public relations, but rather this opportunity has “become an expectation, which now borders on a requirement.”
The fact that people respond positively to corporate engagement with social and political issues is not surprising; a 2018 survey by Accenture found that 63 percent of global consumers prefer to purchase goods and services from companies whose values align with their own.
Weighing in on newsworthy events, however, does not come without its risks. When companies make public statements on controversial issues, they risk driving away certain customers. Many Trump supporters, for instance, boycotted Nordstrom after the company announced in 2017 that it would no longer carry Ivanka Trump’s clothing line.
Furthermore, the fact that so many companies have publicly stated that they have either temporarily or permanently suspended donations to members of the Republican Party who supported Trump’s attempts to contest the results of a free and fair election comes with its own implications. The GOP has historically been viewed as the “pro-business” party, crafting a policy agenda which favors the interests of the private sector rather than that of the average American.
In suspending donations to Republican members of Congress, these companies are removing themselves from the GOP’s decision-making process in regard to which policies the party will pursue. While it’s difficult to know what the long-term outcome of this will be, it could result in companies losing the ability to demand that these GOP members push for “pro-business” policies like greater corporate tax cuts and a stagnant minimum wage.
That companies are taking on the risk of alienating potential customers and cutting themselves out of policy agenda discussions suggests that they see that being aligned with a culture of accountability could far outweigh the costs of taking on such risks.
Because accountability has become mainstream, it is likely that corporate responses to events like the Capitol insurrection will not end with the Trump Administration. Rather, the shift toward corporate accountability, which has occurred over the past few years, is likely to continue long after the dust has settled from the attempted coup.