Timothy L. O'Brien, Columnist

Are You Really Going to Fight for Voting Rights, Corporate America?

The political battle ahead will reveal whether companies are truly changing their political identity.

April 15, 2021 at 11:00 AM UTC

Timothy L. O'Brien is senior executive editor of Bloomberg Opinion. A former editor and reporter for the New York Times, he is author of “TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald.”

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Photographer: Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Social activism doesn’t come easily to corporate America. Business titans have spent decades avoiding direct involvement in political issues, preferring to nudge or strong-arm legislators quietly rather than hammer them publicly. Also, they’ve had a longstanding affinity for Republicans, made tangible in corporate donations and policy preferences.

Donald Trump’s presidency, and the racial confrontations, political machinations and insurrections that came spilling out of it, may have changed all of that. The political battles that lie ahead will test how ready the business community is to adapt.