Issue of the week: #Deleteuber
The campaign against Uber for “collaborating” with President Trump highlights the battle lines being drawn up in corporate America
“In an effort to understand their new reality” under President Trump, many American bosses have been studying The Art of the Deal – Trump’s autobiography published in 1987, said Schumpeter in The Economist. It begins by describing his working week, “which mainly consists of frequent calls with his stockbroker”, and “sitting in his office as other business people pay him lavish tribute”. If Trump’s routine is anything like the same today, he must be delighted: stock markets have jumped since his election, and many of the same executives who lambasted him “as a menace to capitalism” before his election have been publicly lavishing praise. Maybe some are excited by his pro-business stance; others are probably just “terrified”.
Trump already had “corporate America walking on eggshells”, said Antony Currie on Reuters Breakingviews. But the public furore following last weekend’s travel ban has landed business leaders with a nasty dilemma. “Speaking out against an edict that is draped in the flag of national security may increase the level of Trump’s invective on Twitter and elsewhere.” Yet the risk of a backlash from angry customers opposing the ban is considerable. This week, the ride-hailing app Uber felt the full force of it. After failing to join a New York City taxi strike protesting against Trump’s order, it was hit by a furious #Deleteuber social media campaign – giving its smaller rival Lyft the golden opportunity of presenting itself as the “good” ride-hail company. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick attempted appeasement by donating $3m to a legal fund for drivers facing immigration issues. But the campaign continued – focusing on the fact that Kalanick continues to sit on Trump’s business advisory committee.
#Deleteuber offers a few lessons for Silicon Valley, said Brian Solomon on Forbes.com. “First and most obvious: having a good relationship with customers can prevent you from becoming the target of a backlash.” Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, also sits on Trump’s advisory council, yet he hasn’t faced any protests. “But the larger lesson is that tech companies are going to have to choose sides.” As worried as they are about angering Trump, customers are “a much more immediate problem”. And for firms such as Uber, mainly catering to a younger, urban crowd, these are “overwhelmingly likely to be liberal and anti-trump”. If Uber – or any other company – is seen as a Trump “collaborator” in the protest war, it could soon show up “on their balance sheets”. Many companies have been making “anaemic efforts to triangulate” their relationship with the new administration and their customers. Events this week suggest they’ll need to up their game. Communications and PR teams must be working overtime.