Sandy Springs-based UPS is among a growing number of corporations to pull back from supporting the Republican National Convention in July. The shipping giant sent us a note, saying it made the decision last year not to support either political convention when it set the company's 2016 budget:
We will not have a presence at the Republican nor the Democratic convention. It is erroneous to assert or infer that UPS decided not to support the conventions due to the identity or position of a candidate. It was not a political decision, by any means.
And yet, UPS chief executive David Abney is an outspoken Trump critic and a growing number of Corporate America behemoths are wary of associating with Trump's campaign.
UPS joins a slew of corporations that are either sitting out of the convention or scaling back their financial commitment. Others include Ford, Walgreens, Motorola Solutions and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Along with UPS, those corporate giants each also sponsored the 2012 Republican meeting in Tampa.
Corporate powers tend to steer clear of partisan politics, lest they alienate wide segments of their potential customer base. But conventions give them a unique chance to hobnob with influential politicians while highlighting their work.
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