Toyota Defends Donations To Election Lie-Backing Republicans

Toyota is defending donations the company made to Republicans who voted against certifying the 2020 election. MSNBC's Brian Williams discusses that PR tactic with Tim Miller of The Bulwark.
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87 comments

  1. NO more Toyotas for me. I have been a Toyota customer for decades, owning 4 of their makes. No more. I just wrote them a letter stating as such.

  2. Nice statement but wouldn’t it be good if Toyota “did not believe it appropriate for members of Congress to attempt to overthrow democracy”?

    1. @C.a.T Japanese cars sell worldwide, while American cars don’t. American cars are just not that popular, other than in America. However, I will never buy another Toyota, now that I know they donated money to Republicans who backed the election steal lie!!!😡

    2. @Kennedy Suggs sure and that is why the US military and government both investigated why they had fleets of brand new cars .. Toyotas response was they are older models or stolen, yet still had the white protection film for the paint on them from the factory….
      Toyota was in on it and in similar fashion to today Toyota just throws up their arms and says oh well, when confronted on Republicans the same way they did with isis …

    3. @C.a.T one answer, the black market. You really think a car manufacturer is making deals with ISIS? Sureee

    4. @Kennedy Suggs It seems a lot more believable now we know they willingly funded the American Taliban.

    1. I used to drive a Toyota. If I did now, I would sell it . . . cheap. I will NEVER touch their products again, now. Boycott Toyota. They are Anti-American. They are Anti-Democracy. Make them feel their mistake.

    2. Righties will abandon their Fords and Chevys, flock to Toyota Dealers, and buy their cars just to stick it to the libs. Next on their list of things they will be told to HATE is Apple Pie and Grandma.

    1. Do your own repairs. Grab some cold one invite the boys and fix it. Weekend warriors. Toyota need to feel the Repercussions

    2. @Randy Fuentes I’ve heard of those repercussions before. People in Portland was attacking any Republican and blaming Trump for it. 55,000 dollars is all.. how much has Facebook paid to keep the media in its pocket as it steals your info to anybody… Including those big bad Russians you fear. 🤔

    3. truth is… you’re generally better off finding a local repair guy you trust and do everything there. Save the dealer for warranty work only. The odd time, you’ll lose doing this, but over all, you’ll save some bucks.

    4. @Paul Carey Yeah idk who would take to a dealer lol. But I’m sure yeah dude got alot of asian slave camp stuff at his house and just hates anything about a Republican.

    1. ​@MyEyesBled Well, unfortunately those “smelly gasoline propulsion” vehicles will be around for a long while. You really don’t expect everybody to sell their current cars and/or trucks to buy an EV straight away…do you? A lot of people may have just purchased a new or late model car/truck and “won’t be able to afford” to switch right away. Also, think about it! There is a lot of other types of machinery… heavy and lightweight worldwide that is gas powered dependent! 👍🤷‍♂️

    2. @William Wonder by banning gas cars, not making BEV drivers pay their fair share, and giving special benefits to “american” cars built in mexico.

    3. @Andrew Meehan Not banning gas cars for decades. the manufacturers schedule is faster than the governments.

    1. Good! So, this is where they found the cash to set up the Cyber Ninjas, launch their massive Anti-Democracy ad campaigns and pay for the massive legal teams to sway the courts so that minorities don’t get to vote in Southern States! Toyota has just been revealed as a literal existential threat to our Democracy! I hope they go under!

    2. Horrible toyota support these treasonous RepublicanT’s attacking out democracy . Toyota has blood in their hands from the insurrection.

  3. Toyota has some explaining to do this monster is corrupt as you can get we should hold them accountable Vote Blue ! 💙

    1. @Frail Bones Biden as for the n word that was a quote and it was taken out of context
      He said it at the time when saying it IN A QUOTE wasn’t as controversial as now where the n word is avoided even in a quote

    2. @neoh chen lun LOL! Dont charge me Hennesse rates N word! Shut up Corn Pop and just ADMIT you don’t really care about racism unless it’s a Republican and you usually lie and change the story as well!!

    3. Toyota has blood on their hands from the insurrectionist treasonous RepublicanT’s they supported and funded.

  4. Just Proves most corporations just care about nothing but money – nothing else. No Toyotas in my future.

    1. @OnyxLynx6 “Being a part of the Left is painful sometimes with how silly we get”
      right wingers burned their nikes and trashed their Keurigs over some guy who knelt for the national anthem.
      liberals are protesting companies giving donations to fascists who supported overthrowing the government.

      i can see the moral equivalence there.

    2. @OnyxLynx6 ~ Did boycotting South Africa for apartheid “cancel” South Africa?

      If you watched the video, you would know why Toyota specifically is being called out. They gave over twice as much total to over four times as many anti-democratic Republicans fueling the Big Lie than any other corporation (all corporations, not just auto manufacturers). Doesn’t that seem a bit egregious to you, especially when considering that many corporations are deciding to suspend donations to the GOP since January 6? This concerns Toyota political donations made after the January 6 terrorist insurrection, not those made before.

      So, you’re trying to compare apples to oranges, and you’re also conflating things. While many Democrats may boycott Chick-Fil-A (including me), there are plenty of Democrats who don’t have a clue as to why they should, too. That doesn’t make them hypocrites, and even if it did, it’s irrelevant to the issue at hand.

      So-called “cancel culture” has been around since humans walked the Earth. If a member of the tribe was too disruptive and didn’t play nice with the others, they were booted from the tribe (or worse). Boycotts are free speech. Are you saying you’re opposed to free speech? Moreover, such boycotts as this are designed to encourage good corporate behavior, to advance social justice, etc.; the goal is not to make them go bankrupt, or “cancel” them. Additionally, as in the case with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and other hate groups, do we not bear some social responsibility to all speak out against it? That doesn’t automatically or necessarily make “cancel culture” a bad thing, does it?

      Beyond that, MSNBC here is just reporting on what CREW (Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington) found in their own examination of campaign finance. Should they not have reported that? As far as I know, it is not MSNBC calling for a boycott, but rather constitutes a grass-roots movement reacting to that news. So, why do you blame MSNBC, while insulting people who are making their own INDEPENDENT decision based upon the facts to boycott Toyota as being somehow brainwashed and “silly?”

      It has typically been Republicans who have been the largest beneficiaries of dark money and donations by corporations and the wealthy, regardless of any one particular example pointed out to the contrary. It is Democrats who oppose Citizens United, who want campaign finance reform, whose “We the People Act” works to eliminate dark money. Unless you’re naïve, you know that the way the partisan Republican SCOTUS decision has rigged the electoral process in their favor, Democrats are basically forced to accept corporate money and PAC money in order to compete, or be taken out of the game.

      I don’t think you’re being silly, but neither do I find your arguments persuasive, or your thought process on this issue very developed or particularly informed.

    3. @T. R. Campbell ~ What’s wrong with you twisting the words of the comment? It’s dishonest. You’re here chastising someone for calling Republicans treasonous, while being dishonest. The comment is about corporations caring about money and nothing else, not about money itself being good or bad.

      Perhaps the correct way to phrase it is that the Republican party is acting seditiously, but lay people use the terms interchangeably to signify the same thing, regardless of the legal connotations differentiating them. Basically, that person felt that Republicans are betraying democracy and America, a sentiment which many share, I among them. Even a number of staunch conservative Republicans, some of them now former Republicans, have said as much, even going so far as to call Trumpism fascism. One thing is for sure; this isn’t the same Republican party it used to be, bad as that could be at times. This is something far worse.

    4. @wily wascal I am chastising someone for resorting to name-calling. There has been no trial and no finding of treason or any member of government that I can recall within the last 50 years. I do run into republican counterparts on occasion in DC and while we have differences of opinion we share drinks together and they are certainly not treasonous individuals.
      I try to keep political discussion on a scholarly level. I relish political discussion and I believe it should be encouraged without having to resort to name calling. Name-calling or childish.
      Concerning corporations, the vast majority of corporations are small mom and pop organizations. You probably pass several corporations as you walk down the sidewalk and you might sit next to a corporation at the diner. The idea of a corporation is to turn a profit. The larger corporations are owned by investors. If you own an insurance policy, if you have a bank account you might very well be a member of the corporation. If you drive a car, ride a bus or a train, watch television, use a computer or talk on the telephone you are using the fruits of a corporation. Corporations provide a product or a service at a reasonable cost and the idea is to earn money.
      Corporations must comply with the laws wherever they do business. Large corporations employ hundreds to thousands of people. There is nothing wrong with a corporation. Thanks for your input.

  5. I WAS thinking about trading in for a Toyota, but now, maybe not so fast. There’s an alternative. One that isn’t playing this dangerous game with Republicans.

  6. Toyota doesn’t want union jobs in their factories. Think of the money they save by just paying politicians to do their dirty work.

    1. @Scientific Methodologist Unions created the Middle Class, the demise of collective bargaining is directly traceable and quantifiable as the cause of the hollowing out of the American economy. Unions pay a living wage and union workers create superior products – that’s why you are wrong

    1. Make them earn your money. We should make all who are still supporting the big lie pay for it. Because there is many of them still backing republicans. It’s not Americans, which are the reason they even have a business here, but money that matters to them. So hit them where it will leave a mark. A big red mark. Their wallets

    2. @King Butters you can “be” a toyota if you want to but I’m not sure how you’ll pull it off

  7. Toyota is a foreign company that supports Republicans who wants to destroy democracy. Go figure.

    1. @Alain Minsart led by Americans? who’s the president and CEO of Toyota North America ? Because last time I checked he wasn’t American

    2. @William Ravenell Well check again because the Ceo of Toyota North America is definitely American

  8. *America’s Endless Fortune:* _Things couldn’t be better for the 1%_
    Endless War supplied with the Poor.
    Endless Bailouts to our Wealthy Friends.
    Endless TAX Breaks to Billionaires.

    1. They even took away our deduction for donating to the poor. They think that’s going to help to make them go away but they are just making more people poor

    1. Toyota has a few things I considered this spring while I was car shopping. I wasn’t impressed with any of it. I ended up buying a Jeep Grand Cherokee and am glad I did!

  9. Note to self: never buy a Toyota product. I’m not even American so way to go Toyota! Words and actions have consequences.

    1. @Rodney Bean – You’re missing the point. It’s because Toyota is donating to people who tried to overturn the election through lies and insurrection. These people don’t want to support those that would encourage this behavior any more than they would support Hitler, the Taliban or white supremacy and that is certainly their rights not only as Americans but as individuals! Why do you have a problem with that?

    2. @Sandra Stone I am not missing anything I have a different opinion. The Democrats encouraged civil unrest in the streets and getting up in the face of the Trump Administration if there were in public creative a scene and tell them that they are not welcome. The jackasses in Washington need to be criminally charged and held accountable for their actions. Just like the jackasses in antifa and BLM need to be criminally charged and held accountable for their actions. There is no difference between a federal building in Washington and a federal building in Portland. If people pushing this Insurrection BS actually think that the government does not have a contingency plan for people trying to stop the counting of electoral votes they need to think again and the jackasses in Washington didn’t stop the inevitable they just deleted. If they have a contingency plan for if something happened to the president, vice president and Speaker of the House. Then they have a plan for this. I noticed that you mention the Taliban. You do know a Democrat Supply the Taliban with money ammunition and weapons back in the late 80s to fight the Russian in Afghanistan. They made a movie about it Charlie Wilsons War. As far as politicians lying. Politicians lie for a living not just the Republicans. Both Republicans and Democrats are professional Liars. Just to let you know I am not a Democrat or a Republican and I never voted for Trump.

    3. @Rodney Bean -I agree they are all liars. But surely you understand that everything that happened in the last year or so is being investigated and the ones who participated in illegal activity are being charged as they get identified. It’s not just the insurrectionists being charged. Everybody who rioted and looted that have been identified so far has been charged. But the right doesn’t seem to realize that. They’re always saying What about antifa, what about BLM? What about them? They are being jailed and tried – as they ALL should be- no matter which side they are on. People don’t seem to get that.

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