Corporate America bowing to Trump as demonstrated by the Kimmel incident
In the final days of the Donald Trump administration, a series of events unfolded that highlighted the President's aggressive approach towards political opponents and media critics. The purge marked a significant shift in conservative politics, with Trump and his administration using government authority to shut down critics and shame corporate bosses into submission. One of the most prominent cases was the indefinite benching of Jimmy Kimmel, host of ABC's late-night talk show, after he claimed that the Trump administration, right-wing media, and the MAGA movement were trying to manipulate the alleged killer's motivations for political gain. ABC's use of public airwaves gives the administration control that it would lack if Kimmel were on a cable network or had a social media platform. The Federal Communications Commission chair, Brendan Carr, issued an unsubtle threat to ABC and its affiliates that they must act against a comedian who has long lampooned Donald Trump on his show, implying that public broadcast licenses could be at risk. The Trump administration's targeting of media firms to suppress criticism and spare the President from mockery on late-night comedy shows extended beyond ABC. The administration also exerted pressure on several companies in the media and tech sectors, including TikTok's US operation now controlled by Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz, to restrict activities related to press freedom. This pressure led to a deal wherein these US firms operate TikTok in the USA to allow US control, occurring during Trump's presidency and continuing into recent years. Trump is seeking to impose his politics on corporations that drive the country's economic wealth and to use his political pulpit and base to punish those who fight back. A clear example of this was the case of Cracker Barrel, whose restaurants are often in rural, heartland areas where voters predominantly vote Republican. The company reversed a logo change after Trump's intervention, fearing backlash from his supporters. Businesses are being jammed by an administration that wields aggressive power and is using the leverage of media mega-mergers and consolidation in the news and entertainment industries to silence speech it doesn't like. Nexstar, one of the affiliate groups that threatened to pull Kimmel's show, is seeking to merge with another station conglomerate, Tegna, and needs the Trump administration's approval to do so. Trump's demand and receipt of a revenue-sharing stake for the US government in revenues piled up by Nvidia is another example of this trend. The cultural and political pendulum can swing sharply according to election results, as shown by the case of Target and its DEI efforts. Target faced a consumer boycott and a drop in share price after it pulled back diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts that were under fire from the new administration. In a more unusual move, Trump announced Coca-Cola would produce a version of its classic soda using cane sugar cultivated in the USA, speaking to both MAGA and MAHA values. Meanwhile, Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream brand, left the brand, accusing parent company Unilever of curtailing the right of Ben & Jerry's to speak out on political issues. The aggressive steps taken by the Trump administration against political opponents raise the possibility of reverse pivots against right-wing causes if a Democrat becomes president. However, the lasting impact of the Trump administration's crackdown on critics and its influence on businesses remains to be seen.
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