By Rebecca Ballhaus
Last summer, many corporations hesitated to fund the Republican
National Convention over concerns about Donald Trump, then the
presumptive GOP nominee, leaving the Cleveland host committee with
a $6 million gap days before the event began.
Months later, as Mr. Trump's supporters sought to raise money
for his inauguration, those hesitations were gone. The donations
help fund the parade, concert and other celebrations during the
weekend.
At least four corporations that declined to support or reduced
their donations to the July convention have given to Mr. Trump's
inaugural committee, which raised a record $90 million, according
to an official on the committee. That haul far surpassed the $44
million President Barack Obama's committee raised in 2013 and the
$53 million it raised in 2009.
United Parcel Service Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Coca-Cola
Co. are among the companies that are supporting Mr. Trump's
inauguration, after opting not to give or to reduce their donations
to the convention last year. All three companies had given to
previous conventions of both parties.
A spokeswoman for UPS confirmed that the company was supporting
the inauguration but declined to provide an amount for its
donation. It didn't donate to Mr. Obama's 2013 inauguration, though
a spokeswoman said it had given to past inaugurations. In 2012, the
company gave about $400,000, including in-kind donations, to the
Republican convention in Tampa, Fla., according to Federal Election
Commission records. UPS didn't donate to the Democratic convention
last year either.
Wal-Mart has given $150,000 to the inaugural committee, as well
as sponsoring a ball, according to spokesman Greg Hitt. In 2013, it
didn't donate to Mr. Obama's inaugural committee but sponsored some
events during the festivities, Mr. Hitt said. The company gave
$15,000 to each national party committee to fund last year's
conventions after giving $150,000 to the 2012 GOP convention.
Coca-Cola has made a donation to Mr. Trump's inaugural committee
that was "in line" with the $430,000 it gave Mr. Obama's 2013
event, a spokesman said. The company donated $75,000 to the GOP
convention last year, down from $666,200 in 2012. A spokesman noted
that the company gave the same amount to both parties' conventions
last year.
Other companies supporting the inauguration or surrounding
festivities after having reduced or eliminated their donations to
the GOP convention include Motorola Solutions Inc.
The donations illustrate Corporate America's shifting
relationship with the new president, after most companies were wary
about linking themselves to him as a candidate.
Most industries supported Democrat Hillary Clinton instead, and
not a single Fortune 100 CEO gave to the Republican or his allied
super PACs. In some instances, corporate executives drew harsh
criticism for interacting with the Republican nominee: Intel Corp.
CEO Brian Krzanich, for example, canceled an event with Mr. Trump
at his home after news of his plans emerged.
Since the election, many companies have found themselves the
target of Mr. Trump -- in particular, of his Twitter account.
In recent months, the president-elect has tweeted criticism of
companies including General Motors Co. and Boeing Co., while
praising others, such as Ford Motor Co., for expanding operations
in the U.S. rather than in other countries. Many companies
including Wal-Mart have successfully fended off criticism from Mr.
Trump -- even getting praise over Twitter -- by touting
job-creation numbers from previously announced plans.
In some cases, the targets of Mr. Trump's tweets have overlapped
with the companies supporting his inauguration. Last month, the
president chastised Boeing's price tag for its new 747 Air Force
One. "Costs are out of control," he tweeted. "Cancel order!" Boeing
has given $1 million to the inaugural committee, the same amount it
gave to Mr. Obama's inauguration in 2013. A spokesman said the
donation was made before Mr. Trump's tweet.
Beyond the hope of avoiding Mr. Trump's Twitter wrath, there are
plenty of reasons for corporations to sponsor an inauguration. Many
companies say they see it as a civic responsibility. Major donors
also win prime placement of their names or those of their
corporations on "select printed materials," according to a list of
benefits viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
A major donation also wins corporations or individuals the ear
of the president: Donors who give $500,000 or more receive tickets
to a "candlelight dinner" attended by Mr. Trump and his wife,
Melania, and Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen.
Meanwhile, at least three major corporate donors to Mr. Obama's
inauguration in 2013 have opted not to support the event this time
around. Northrop Grumman Corp., Xerox Corp. and the Edison Electric
Institute, which collectively gave $435,000 in 2013, aren't
donating to the inauguration this year. Chevron Corp. halved its
contribution to the inauguration this year, giving $500,000. It
also plans to sponsor additional events, a spokeswoman said.
Spokesmen for Northrop Grumman and Xerox said their decisions
were for reasons unrelated to Mr. Trump. A spokesman for Edison
Electric, an association of shareholder-owned electric utilities,
said Mr. Trump's inaugural committee didn't accept funding from
trade associations or PACs.
Write to Rebecca Ballhaus at Rebecca.Ballhaus@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 19, 2017 11:44 ET (16:44 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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