Richard Levick speaks to CNN about the shift in corporate political donations after last week’s riot on Capitol Hill.
Some of the country’s largest firms are scrambling to distance themselves from last week’s insurrection at the US Capitol by freezing or reassessing their political donations — sending tremors through a political system that has relied for decades on the predictable flow of corporate financial support.
Companies such Google, Coca-Cola and UPS all have pledged to suspend contributions across the board, while others took aim specifically at lawmakers they viewed as complicit in President Donald Trump’s effort to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s election.
“This is extraordinary. It’s corporate America saying, ‘Enough,’ ” said Richard Levick, the CEO of LEVICK, a Washington-based public relations firm. “Capitalism is trying to ride to the rescue of a political system that doesn’t have an answer” for Trump’s conduct.
The Democrat-led House of Representatives plans to vote Wednesday to impeach Trump for “incitement of insurrection,” but convicting Trump would be a tall order in the narrowly divided Senate.
Business PACs are significant players in politics, accounting for more than $360 million in federal contributions during the 2020 cycle — with about 57% of the money flowing to GOP candidates, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political donations.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Fred Wertheimer, who runs the watchdog group Democracy 21, of the corporate retreat in the wake of the riot by pro-Trump supporters…Read more
