Presidents have historically avoided taking aim at American corporations by name, at least publicly.
It’s not hard to see why. No occupant of the Oval Office wants to make enemies in the donor class, and the political price of job creation often means keeping the C-suites of the U.S. happy—no matter what a president thinks of them privately.
There are exceptions. President Obama publicly skewered Staples in 2016 for allegedly limiting employee hours to avoid paying health insurance. In 2002, George W. Bush slammed WorldCom as “outrageous”—but only after $3.4 billion went missing from the disgraced company’s ledgers.
But for the most part, presidents err on the side of decorum—unless that president is Donald Trump.
Be it his populist streak or truculence, Trump has never hesitated to take companies (and even their marketing moves) to the woodshed. That willingness was on display earlier this week, when an already bumptious press conference announcing acetaminophen’s unsubstantiated link to autism swerved into a targeting of Tylenol specifically.
Below, in no particular order, are nine brand potshots the chief executive has taken, and why.
Amazon
In a not-so-subtle threat from the campaign trail in February of 2016, Trump swung his cannons at the mighty Amazon. Among his stated grievances: that Amazon uses the Postal Service as its “delivery boy;” that it doesn’t pay its fair share of taxes; and that it’s effectively a monopoly. “If I become president, oh do they have problems,” said Trump, quoted by CNBC. “They’re going to have such problems.”
Things have shifted between Amazon and the president since his first term, however, as CEO Jeff Bezos and Trump continue to warm up their previously frosty relationship.
John Deere
In September 2024, after hearing that John Deere might move some of its manufacturing from Iowa to Mexico due to tariffs, Trump threatened the company publicly. “I am just notifying John Deere right now that if you do that, we are putting a 200% tariff on everything that you want to sell into the United States,” he said. (Deere is proceeding with the move anyway.)
Macy’s
Following his 2015 campaign remarks that Mexican immigrants were “bringing drugs,” “bringing crime,” and were “rapists,” Macy’s ended its relationship with Trump’s clothing line and put its existing stock on clearance. In an angry retort, the presidential candidate accused the department store of being “disloyal” and called for a boycott of the brand.
Apple
Having built much of its brand reputation on privacy and security, Apple refused to give the FBI access to the iPhone belonging to San Bernardino mass shooter Syed Farook in 2015. Angered, candidate Trump went after both the tech giant and its CEO during a town-hall event. “Boycott Apple until such time as they give that information,” he said, adding that “Tim Cook is looking to do a big number, probably to show how liberal he is.”
Tylenol
In a White House announcement that the FDA would advise pregnant women to avoid taking acetaminophen on September 22, President Trump singled out Tylenol, even though the Kenvue-owned brand holds only a 15% global share of the acetaminophen market and other brands (Vicks, Excedrin) make products containing it. “Taking Tylenol is not good,” the President said, “…don’t take it, don’t take it.”
Boeing
In December 2016, upset over the cost overruns for two new 747s to replace Air Force One, the newly-elected Trump attacked Boeing in front of reporters. “The plane is totally out of control,” he said. “It’s going to be $4 billion for this Air Force One program, and I think it’s ridiculous. I think Boeing is trying to do a little bit of a number.”
ABC
After pulling the plug on Jimmy Kimmel Live! following his remarks about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, ABC reinstated the host six days later—a move that prompted Trump to lash out. “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back,” Trump posted on Truth Social. Alluding to ABC’s settlement of his 2024 defamation suit, he then threatened the network: “I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 million dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative.”
Jaguar
On July 31, when British luxury automaker Jaguar announced that CEO Adrian Mardell would step down, the president viewed the news as an opportunity to go after its divisive 2024 ad “Copy Nothing” and the brand overall. “Jaguar did a stupid, and seriously WOKE advertisement, THAT IS A TOTAL DISASTER!” the president wrote via Truth Social. “Who wants to buy a Jaguar after looking at that disgraceful ad[?]” Trump also claimed that Jaguar itself was in “absolute turmoil.”
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