Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda has some explaining to do after showing at a race occasion in Japan on Sunday sporting a “Make America Nice Once more” hat and a crimson T-shirt emblazoned with photographs of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. The picture shortly brought about a stir, particularly on condition that Trump’s tariffs have price Toyota billions. His look got here days earlier than Toyota introduced it could make investments an extra $912 million in U.S. manufacturing.
Toyoda, a grandson of Toyota’s founder, Kiichiro Toyoda, wore the controversial outfit on the closing occasion of Japan’s ENOS Tremendous Taikyu Collection. Toyota hosted a NASCAR demonstration at its residence monitor, attended by George Glass, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, and that includes six NASCAR vehicles flown in particularly for the event. Glass and Toyoda led the vehicles onto the monitor in a Ford F-150 in an overt show of Americana.
“The photograph alternative was supposed to underscore our firm’s help for efforts that strengthen U.S. trade and create new alternatives for American automobiles in Japan,” Toyota mentioned in a press release to Observer, with out addressing Toyoda’s option to put on the MAGA-themed attire.
Toyota has invested roughly $60 billion within the U.S. over the previous 70 years and now operates 11 manufacturing crops throughout a number of states—lots of them pro-Trump strongholds, together with Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas, Tennessee, West Virginia and Alabama. Yesterday (Nov. 18), the corporate introduced one other $912 million funding in its U.S. operations, which can carry new jobs to Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky and West Virginia.
Most automakers have fallen in line underneath the present administration as tariffs proceed to squeeze revenue margins at main auto corporations. In its earnings launch earlier this month, Toyota detailed the harm: working revenue fell by $3.3 billion from a yr earlier for the fiscal half-year ended September, largely due to tariffs. In September, the Trump administration lowered tariffs on Japanese auto imports from 27.5 % to fifteen %—nonetheless a considerable burden.
In keeping with reporting from Highway & Monitor, tariffs had been clearly on Toyoda’s thoughts on the Japan occasion, and lots of observers interpreted his outfit as an try to curry favor with the President. Toyoda instructed reporters, “I’m not right here to argue whether or not tariffs are good or dangerous. Each nationwide chief needs to guard their very own auto trade. We’re exploring methods to make tariffs a winner for everybody. The individuals we would like most to be winners are our prospects.”
It’s no secret that many automobile CEOs are attempting to remain within the good graces of the mercurial Trump administration by each seen exhibits of help and political donations. Forward of Trump’s second time period in workplace, Toyota donated $1 million to his inauguration. In keeping with OpenSecrets.org, the corporate donated extra money to Republican states and politicians than to Democrats between 2023 and 2024.
Whereas Toyoda’s selection of garb was exceptional for the chairman of a world automotive big, one factor is evident: the photographs function a stark reminder of how deeply politics at the moment are intertwined with international automaking and the way a lot is at stake for these huge corporations.
