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As a businessman, it would be foolish for Jeff Bezos to be construed as endorsing a presidential candidate. The country is highly divided and we're headed into
by taylodl 2y ago
As a businessman, it would be foolish for Jeff Bezos to be construed as endorsing a presidential candidate. The country is highly divided and we're headed into the largest sales period of the year for American retail. Do you think Mr. Bezos wants to screw that pooch? Presumably, nearly half of his customers support Trump. Why would he do anything to incentivize them to go check out what Walmart.com can do for them?
Also, what does endorsing Harris 12 days before the election buy you? I don't seriously believe anybody has been "undecided" since the campaign shifted to being Harris vs. Trump. I would wager that 99.99% of all Americans, whether they vote at all, have known whom they're voting for from day one.
So, you're not going to make any material impact on the election, and you stand to lose a lot of business. You can call it cowardice; I call it smart business.
Americans had better get used to it because if Trump gets elected, you're going to see a lot more of it. Let's not forget that some of our favorite German brands today were once affiliated with Germany's Nazi Party. History has a weird way of repeating itself.
- bediger4000 2y agoCongratulations on that last paragraph!
- kermatt 2y agoSure, if the _only_ responsibility of a businessman was to maximize revenue.
- taylodl 2y agoSince US ballots are secret, and there are many good reasons for that being the case, I see no reason why a businessman has any responsibility for endorsing a candidate. If they want to publicly state that one candidate or another is advocating for policies that help or hinder their business, then it may be beneficial to their business to point that out. But that's not an endorsement. Businesses are well-advised to stick to policy - and stick to policy that directly affects their business.
- hn1986 2y agoMost people would call it cowardice and conflict of interest, both things you don't want in a business person.