It’s because it’s too risky, according to The Washington Post.
“Most companies — especially these big, publicly traded, heavily followed companies where there’s a very public nature to their governance — are really loathe to participate much in electoral politics, particularly presidential politics,” said Doug Schuler, an associate professor of business and public policy at Houston-based Rice University, according to the report.
He added that it’s fairly uncommon for CEOs to publicly pledge support for presidential candidates because it could upset consumers, anger employees or harm other political relationships if the opposing party wins the election.
Still, it does happen. Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, has pledged support for Hillary Clinton, while Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone has done the same for Donald Trump. Instead of speaking out about their support, other CEOs choose to donate funds to candidates’ campaigns.
But caution is necessary, as endorsements can result in repercussions. After NASCAR CEO Brian France pledged his support for Mr. Trump, he’s been facing heavy backlash from NASCAR sponsors, according to The Associated Press.
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