The Gulf of America?

Summary

Today, Explained: The Gulf of America?
Vox Media Podcast Network
Release Date: March 3, 2025

---

1. Introduction: The Oval Office and the Gulf of America

In the latest episode of Today, Explained, hosts Sean Elly and Emily Stewart delve into President Donald Trump's controversial move to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. This decision has sparked widespread debate across media outlets, corporations, and international relations.

Notable Quote:

• Sean Elly [00:00]: "What was your most shocking moment from the Oval Office meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy on Friday?"

2. Origins of the Gulf Renaming

The concept of renaming the Gulf of Mexico isn't new. Matt Visor, White House bureau chief for the Washington Post, traces its roots back to a satirical gesture by comedian Stephen Colbert in 2010. Colbert initiated the "Colbert Nation Gulf of America Fund" to raise money for BP's oil spill through repeated mentions of "Bing."

Notable Quotes:

• Matt Visor [02:18]: "The origins generally date back to at least 2010. As somewhat of a joke... Stephen Colbert... named the fund that he was raising money for, the Colbert Nation Gulf of America Fund."
• Emily Stewart [03:07]: "I don't think we can call it."

3. Trump's Implementation of the Name Change

President Trump officially announced the renaming during his inauguration, emphasizing it as a reflection of America's dominance. The administration issued executive orders to solidify the name change, leading to immediate adoption by major tech companies like Google, Apple, and Bing.

Notable Quotes:

• Matt Visor [06:34]: "The Gulf of America. What a beautiful name. And it's appropriate."
• Emily Stewart [09:20]: "As of this morning, Google Maps has officially changed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America on their platforms..."

4. Media and Corporate Reactions

Media giants such as the Associated Press (AP), The Washington Post, and The New York Times have resisted the change, steadfastly referring to it as the Gulf of Mexico. This resistance led to the AP being banned from various White House press events, highlighting the tension between the administration and established media institutions.

Notable Quotes:

• Matt Visor [10:18]: "The Associated Press has a very prominent style book..."
• Emily Stewart [11:14]: "AP has been terrible. I think they're radical left. I think they're third rate reporters."

5. Corporate Compliance and Anxiety

The renaming reflects a broader trend of corporate anxiety under the Trump administration. Companies are recalibrating their policies and public stances to align with or avoid conflict with the administration's directives. This includes rolling back Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives amid political pressure.

Notable Quotes:

• Emily Stewart [17:53]: "I think across corporate America, you are kind of getting this sense that there's some pretty broad anxiety."
• Matt Visor [19:00]: "They’re changing to culture and inclusivity... pushing in stores... makes me afraid to go shopping..."

6. DEI Initiatives Under Scrutiny

President Trump has actively opposed DEI efforts, considering them forms of "illegal DEI." This stance has led numerous corporations to scale back or rebrand their DEI programs to avoid potential lawsuits or governmental pushback.

Notable Quotes:

• Emily Stewart [19:48]: "General Motors cut its DEI section from its annual report."
• Matt Visor [19:46]: "They'Re pushing it in stores."

7. Litigious Environment: Lawsuits Against Corporations

The Trump administration has also been instrumental in initiating lawsuits against major corporations. High-profile cases include ABC News and Meta settling lawsuits for millions to support Trump's presidential library, reflecting a strategic move by the administration to exert influence over major media and tech companies.

Notable Quotes:

• Emily Stewart [20:37]: "ABC News... agreed to pay $15 million to Trump's future presidential library..."
• Matt Visor [22:42]: "Trump likes to sue companies, right? He always has."

8. Business Strategies Amid Political Uncertainty

Amidst this climate, some companies are navigating the turbulent waters by either complying with the administration's demands or standing firm in their policies. For instance, Costco and JP Morgan continue their DEI initiatives despite political pressures, signaling a divide in corporate strategies.

Notable Quotes:

• Emily Stewart [26:05]: "Costco, JP Morgan have both come out and said, we are sticking with our DEI initiatives."
• Matt Visor [26:05]: "It's more important what's going on internally than what you're saying in a little annual report."

9. Conclusion: Implications for American Industry

The episode underscores the profound impact of presidential directives on American businesses and media. The renaming of the Gulf of Mexico serves as a microcosm of the broader struggle between governmental authority and corporate autonomy. As companies weigh their responses, the episode suggests a lingering uncertainty about the future interplay between politics and business.

Notable Insight:

• Matt Visor [11:40]: "It reflects the underlying attitude that Trump has... how he's viewing the world and America's place in it."

---

Key Takeaways:

• President Trump's renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America has stirred significant controversy.
• Media outlets like the Associated Press have resisted the change, leading to tensions with the administration.
• Corporations are experiencing heightened anxiety, leading many to reconsider or roll back DEI initiatives.
• Legal actions against major companies indicate a strategic use of litigation to influence corporate behavior.
• The episode highlights the broader implications of political influence on corporate policies and media practices.

For Those Who Haven't Listened: This episode offers a comprehensive exploration of how a seemingly minor name change can unravel into a complex web of media resistance, corporate anxiety, and political maneuvering. It provides insightful analysis into the current state of American industry under a politically turbulent administration.

Transcript

[Sean Elly]

What was your most shocking moment from the Oval Office meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy on Friday? I think mine might have been when some reporter asked the Ukrainian president why he wasn't wearing a suit.

[Emily Stewart]

Do you own a suit? Yeah. Yeah.

[Sean Elly]

That's Brian Glenn from Real America's Voice, a right wing, conspiracy loving cable news channel that only recently got access to the White House when the new administration started hand picking who gets to hang out with the president. Real America's Voice is in. The Associated Press is out. You remember the A.P. founded in 1846, 59 Pulitzers, King of style. They're currently suing the Trump administration over being banned from the Oval Office. And why were they banned? Because they won't call it the Gulf of America.

[Emily Stewart]

We are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

[Sean Elly]

How the president renamed the Gulf. Coming up on Today Explained.

[Emily Stewart]

Friendly reminder, your taxes are due soon. Sorry to scare you, but it's true. If you are dreading April 15th like the rest of America, listen to this week's episode of Network and Chill where I cover all things taxes and show you that yes, it can be confusing, but I promise we can get through it together. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or watch on the your rich BFF YouTube channel. I always thought anxiety and worry were the same thing, but worry is actually, it's a behavior. It's almost like a self soothing behavior. And, and people who are very anxious think that if you just worry enough, you won't be anxious anymore. But instead worry can make you more anxious. Like you're never going to get to the end of the worrying.

[Matt Visor]

If it's a behavior, why not change it? This week on the Gray Area, I.

[Sean Elly]

Talked to Olga Hazan about our personalities.

[Matt Visor]

And whether we can change them.

[Sean Elly]

Listen to the Gray Area with me, Sean Elly. New episodes every Monday, available everywhere today Explained here with Matt Visor, White House bureau chief for the Washington Post. Matt, it was on day one of President Donald Trump's second term where he mentioned the Gulf of America at his inauguration. Where did this idea come from? He wasn't running on the Gulf of America platform per se, was he?

[Matt Visor]

No. And there's a couple of different aspects of this. First is sort of the origin of this idea generally, which doesn't necessarily come from Trump. And then secondly is a little bit of indication of how it may have gotten onto his radar. The origins generally date back to at least 2010. As somewhat of a joke. Stephen Colbert on his show on Comedy Central had Referenced raising money for the BP oil spill at the time off the Gulf coast in the Gulf of Mexico. This is one time when you want to hear that a charity is skimming from the top. And he named the fund that he was raising money for, the Colbert Nation Gulf of America Fund.

[Emily Stewart]

I don't think we can call it.

[Matt Visor]

The Gulf of Mexico anymore. We broke it, we bought was a joke. He raised about $100,000 to help those who had been impacted by the oil spill. And actually it was the way that he raised money was from the Microsoft search engine called Bing, Bing, Bing, bing, bing, Bing. So he said bing as many times as he could, and they would donate money for every time he said Bing.

[Emily Stewart]

What a shame we didn't have one more bing.

[Sean Elly]

100,000 dol.

[Matt Visor]

That was kind of the joke, the ruse, the total satire. Two years later, a Mississippi lawmaker also does it as a little bit of a kind of a trolling of his Republican colleagues at the time, making fun of them for being afraid of Hispanics and, you know, not calling it the Gulf of Mexico. So he kind of did it as a joke to rename the Gulf off of Mississippi as the Gulf of America.

[Emily Stewart]

So let's just get rid of the Mexico thing and let's have the Gulf of America, and we'll be very unique in this country and we'll be on an island unto ourselves. Everybody else can have the Gulf of Mexico, but we'll have the Gulf of America.

[Matt Visor]

Again, joking. More recently, what we've been able to trace a little bit is conservative influencers started to refer to it as the Gulf of America. The one that I trace it to is a guy, Kevin Posobiek. Close listeners and followers may know his brother, Jack Posobiak, who's sort of a conspiracy theorist, well known in the right wing ecosphere. Proud Boys USA is here.

[Emily Stewart]

What's up?

[Matt Visor]

What is up? Proud of your boy? Proud Boys. His brother Kevin is less well known, but Kevin was in the Gulf last April with a buddy and they had rented waverunners. And when I talked to Kevin, he sort of recounted the whole scene and just felt like it was such an America thing to do out there in the water. And he said, it came to me. It's like you see Hulk Hogan and think, man, that's America.

[Emily Stewart]

What you gonna do when Donald Trump and all the trumpamaniacs run wild on New Brother?

[Matt Visor]

Just having fun in the sun. A Florida man kind of moment. And so he tweets at the time a message saying, cruising the Gulf of.

[Sean Elly]

America its proper name come 2025.

[Matt Visor]

Jack Posobiek, his brother, retweets him at the time to his 3 million followers, who include Donald Trump. And he later sort of resurrects this idea closer to the inauguration in December.

[Sean Elly]

While we're at it. Gulf of Mexico. I think you mean Gulf of America.

[Matt Visor]

So that's an indication of maybe Trump starts to think, maybe we should rename this the Gulf of America. Trump first makes this announcement in a press conference in early January, like two weeks before the inauguration.

[Emily Stewart]

We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring that covers a lot of territory. The Gulf of America. What a beautiful name. And it's appropriate.

[Matt Visor]

And gets his staff to rewrite some executive orders. And certainly it hits a lot of our radars at that time. And in the inaugural address, you know, this sort of very prominent, sweeping speech meant to indicate the new priorities of a new president. And Gulf of America, turns out, is one of those key agenda items.

[Emily Stewart]

The Gulf of America, and we will restore.

[Sean Elly]

How does Mexico feel about it?

[Matt Visor]

Not great. The Mexican president has sort of expressed opposition to this.

[Emily Stewart]

Why don't we call it Mexican America? It sounds nice, right?

[Sean Elly]

Since 1607, the constitution of Apatzingan referred to it as Mexican America.

[Emily Stewart]

We are going to call it Mexican America. It sounds beautiful, right?

[Matt Visor]

They have threatened to file lawsuits against map makers. You know, like Google Maps has changed their maps, and the Mexican president has talked about, you know, filing lawsuits against Google as a result of it. So who knows how this could blow up in diplomatic channels down the line.

[Sean Elly]

Is there an official way to go about doing this? More official than an executive order? Could Congress make this feel a little more than a petty presidential whim?

[Matt Visor]

Yeah, the Congress could also change the name, which would make it harder to change back. So Marjorie Taylor Greene, almost. Almost immediately after Trump mentioned this in early January, filed legislation to do it.

[Emily Stewart]

It's absolutely the right thing to do. We change post office names all the time up here.

[Matt Visor]

You better bet.

[Emily Stewart]

We are absolutely going to change the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Let's go.

[Matt Visor]

I don't know that the legislation is actively going to go anywhere, but legislation would be harder to overturn. So you're in a scenario now where a future Democratic president could say, you know what? That Gulf of America thing was ridiculous. We're changing the name back to, you know, Gulf of Mexico or Gulf of Obama.

[Emily Stewart]

Come on, man.

[Matt Visor]

Or Gulf of Joe Biden.

[Sean Elly]

Come on, man.

[Matt Visor]

You know, like they'll change it to something else. But like, because it's an executive order, it can kind of quickly and more easily be undone by a future president. It's funny cause you don't really think.

[Sean Elly]

About who gets to decide what a body of water is called until some president just declares he's s single handedly renaming one. Who does get to decide.

[Matt Visor]

The tricky part here is that it is a shared body of water and different countries refer to it by a different name now. And so it's created a lot of controversy over whose side are you on?

[Emily Stewart]

As of this morning, Google Maps has officially changed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America on their platforms after President Trump's executive order. Google says it's their policy to change names when they have been updated by the government. Apple officially became the latest company to.

[Sean Elly]

Update the Gulf of Mexico on its.

[Emily Stewart]

Maps to the Gulf of America. Reportedly, if you're in Mexico, it still looks like the Gulf of Mexico, but if you're in other countries, you'll see both names. Wow.

[Matt Visor]

I know. Even Bing, the one that Stephen Colbert was kind of using to raise money for the Gulf of Mexico BP oil spill. Bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing. Changed to Gulf of America on their map.

[Sean Elly]

It still exists.

[Matt Visor]

Still exists. And bp, also bp, Chevron, all these oil companies have also changed to the Gulf of America.

[Sean Elly]

Who has flat out told the President no. It sounds like some government agencies are maybe dragging their feet. Some people are just straight up confused. But some people out here are kind of pushing back, right?

[Matt Visor]

Yeah. I mean, most prominently, the Associated Press, for example, is still calling it the Gulf of Mexico in part by pointing out that it's a global wire service that has readers in Mexico and around the world in countries that still refer to it as Gulf of Mexico. The Washington Post has a similar style approach. The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, a lot of other news outlets are still referring to it as the Gulf of Mexico while adding context around what Trump has declared it as. But that's created a major conflict with the White House and resulted in the Associated Press being kicked out of various press availabilities that the President has at the White House or on Air Force One.

[Emily Stewart]

See, the Gulf of America, which is a beautiful name. Most people agree.

[Matt Visor]

I don't know.

[Emily Stewart]

It's, you know, AP has been terrible. I think they're radical left. I think they're third rate reporters.

[Matt Visor]

The Associated Press has a very prominent style book. And because a lot of people follow what they do, I think the White House got particularly upset at them.

[Sean Elly]

I mean, you've reported on this story, Matt. You've thought about it more than most who maybe just dismissed it as sort of an inconsequential joke. Does it matter what we call the Gulf of Mexico?

[Matt Visor]

I think it can come across as a joke, but I do think it reflects, like an underlying attitude that Trump has, and I think it's a reflection of how he's viewing the world and America's place in it. It's that America is dominant and is going to take over and is going to be at the forefront. And, you know, it reflects, I think, his dismissal of countries who think otherwise. And so I think it has set an early marker for, for diplomacy. The fact that he's calling the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America is like one reflection, I think, of his whole outlook on the world and how he's going to approach dealing with foreign leaders.

[Sean Elly]

Matt Visor, washingtonpost.com where it's still called the Gulf of Mexico why big powerful businesses, some of the most powerful on earth, were so quick to accept Trump's newly named gulf when we return on TODAY Explained. Support for TODAY Explained comes from netsuite. It takes a lot of guts to run your own business, especially because you never know what the future has in store for you. When will a bull market turn into a bear market, for example? When will inflation start to drop, for example? And when will rates rise and fall and rise again, for example? Unfortunately, there is not a crystal ball, but there is Netsuite by Oracle. And who needs a crystal ball when you have Netsuite by Oracle? According to the company, almost 40,000 companies choose NetSuite by Oracle to help future proof their business so they can stay on track no matter what tomorrow brings. Netsuite by Oracle says they can help you respond to immediate challenges and seize opportunities. And speaking of opportunities, you can download the CFO's guide to AI and machine learning at netsuite.com explained. The guide is free to you at netsuite.com explained.netsuite.com explained support for today Explained comes from Bombus. How many pairs of mismatched socks do you own? Zero. Well, you can start your spring cleaning by retiring those. Don't have them. Sad single socks and getting some new pairs from Bombas. They've got lots to choose from. Athletic socks, dress socks, regular everyday socks. And they're designed to be comfortable all day. Bombas also offers comfy T shirts, waterproof slides and soft underwear. Just ask our colleague Nisha Jital.

[Emily Stewart]

My favorite Bombas honestly, hard to choose. I think one of my favorites are the more classic solid, you know, white, black that can go with everything. I don't know. Hard to say. I wear them all the time.

[Sean Elly]

Bombas is going international with worldwide shipping to over 200 countries. That's actually impressive. You can go to bombas.comexplained and use code EXPLAINED for 20% off your first purchase. That's B O M B A S.com explained code EXPLAINED for 20 percent off your first purchase. Bombas.com explained and use code explained hello podcast listeners. I'm Sean Ramstorm here from the Today Explained show, and I've got some news you can use. We're taking Vox Media podcasts on the road and heading Back to Austin, Texas for the south by Southwest Festival. March 8th through 10th. We'll be doing special live episodes of hit shows, including our show Today Explained. Where should we begin? With Esther Perel, Pivot, A Touch More with Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe, Not Just Football with Cam Hayward and more presented by Smartsheet. The Vox Media podcast stage at SXSW is open to all south by Southwest badge holders. I'll be the guy in a Mr. T costume. We hope to see you at the Austin Convention center soon. You can visit voxmedia.com SXSW to learn more. That's voxmedia.com SXSW estar es cucando a.

[Emily Stewart]

Hoy explicado today explained. My name is Emily Stewart and I'm a senior correspondent at Business Insider.

[Sean Elly]

And we used to work together.

[Emily Stewart]

We did used to work together.

[Sean Elly]

We're not scared of each other, even though we work at different places. But you know who is scared? It seems Emily. Google, Apple, Microsoft. Why are the big boys scared?

[Emily Stewart]

I think a lot of companies are in a moment of just some trepidation around the political environment. Right. You have a White House that is moving very fast and breaking a lot of things, whether that be executive orders on diversity, equity, equity inclusion, the president trying to move on tariffs. It's just kind of a real moment of uncertainty. Businesses, above all, they really like certainty. You want to know that if you're going to make an investment that's going to pay off for you in the next five years. And we are not in a moment where businesses can really guarantee that even.

[Sean Elly]

Though the economy's not in a bad way yet, it feels like it might be soon, but it isn't yet. Right. It's bullish out here.

[Emily Stewart]

Yeah. I mean, the economy is good. Consumers are spending even though everybody's mad about inflation. You also have A Republican regime that usually is good for business. Right. This means lower regulations. This probably means a more favorable tax situation. But again, like I said before, if you are in a moment where you kind of don't know what will happen tomorrow, it makes it pretty hard to feel good about today.

[Sean Elly]

And you're saying this isn't just Microsoft, Apple, Google. This is a broader situation.

[Emily Stewart]

Yeah. I think across corporate America, you are kind of getting this sense that there's some pretty broad anxiety. I wrote a piece in Business Insider called it kind of scaredy cat capitalism.

[Sean Elly]

Scaredy cat capitalism, Right.

[Emily Stewart]

Kind of fun.

[Sean Elly]

Tell us about the other scaredy cats. It wasn't just the scaredy cats who were up there grinning behind Trump as he was inaugurated.

[Emily Stewart]

Yeah. So I think, you know, you can kind of look in this a couple of different ways and see this kind of anxiety manifest itself. I think for me, kind of one of the more obvious places to look is around diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which the President has spoken out against pretty forcefully. I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life. And he's also asked his agencies to kind of go hunting for potential targets for lawsuits for just regular private companies that are engaging in dei. And now he's saying you can't engage in illegal dei.

[Sean Elly]

That's what the I stands, right? Diversity, equity and illegal.

[Emily Stewart]

Well, the question here is that nobody really knows what illegal DEI means. So what we are seeing is a lot of companies have. Some have come out and said, hey, we're going to really rollback on this. We're going to kind of take a pause. You look like a Target, right, who had kind of been a target of some of some anti DI activism even before this over there. Pride Month displays, Target sales dropped for the first time in six years following 2023's conservative backlash over its Pride products in store.

[Matt Visor]

Companies like Bud Light, Target, petsmart, Nike, the North Face and Adidas have all.

[Sean Elly]

Faced right wing protests over LGBTQ products.

[Matt Visor]

And ads and partnerships, children and lgbtq.

[Emily Stewart]

It's a very adult content and now.

[Matt Visor]

They'Re pushing it in stores.

[Emily Stewart]

It makes me afraid to go shopping, Charlie. General Motors cut its DEI section from its annual report. Pepsi had a breakdown of its workforce demographics and a line about how it believed in culture of diversity, equity, inclusion as a competitive advantage. That's gone. Even a Pinterest, which I guess most people don't think about Pinterest as much, but they used to have a section that was called Inclusion and Diversity it's now called Inclusion and Belonging.

[Sean Elly]

Pinterest is scared of Donald Trump.

[Emily Stewart]

Pinterest. I mean, Chipotle had a section that was called Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Now it is culture and inclusivity.

[Sean Elly]

Okay, so apart from dei, there's also some lawsuits being settled in a very hasty fashion. Tell us about those.

[Emily Stewart]

Yeah. So in December, ABC News, which is owned by Disney, agreed to pay $15 million to Trump's future presidential library in order to settle a defamation lawsuit. Trump had sued the network and George Stephanopoulos for defamation after the anchor incorrectly.

[Sean Elly]

Stated on air that Trump had been.

[Emily Stewart]

Found liable for rape.

[Sean Elly]

In fact, the jury in the E. Jean Carroll case found Trump liable for sexual abuse and explicitly not for rape.

[Emily Stewart]

Meta in January cut a deal to give $22 million to the library to settle a lawsuit back from 2021 around the January 6 riots and Trump being removed from their platforms. Elon Musk's ex also has paid money to the Trump library and reached a settlement over similar situation. Our case will prove this censorship is unlawful, it's unconstitutional, and it's completely un American. We're going to hold Big Tech very accountable. Paramount is resisting settling a lawsuit filed over a 60 minute segment with Kamala Harris. They took out her answer and they inserted an entirely different answer that made her sound competent. But a lot of people think it will probably settle because they want to do a business deal with Skydance and Paramount would rather do the deal and probably wouldn't mind spending the money to settle, but we don't know if they're actually going to settle. And basically, I think the bigger picture here is that Trump likes to sue companies, right? He always has. And these are maybe the types of lawsuits that if you're a Disney, if you're a Meta, you in normal times definitely have the money and the wherewithal to fight these lawsuits. But right now, the guy suing you is in the White House and they are making the calculation that it's just better to make this payment to reach the settlement, to do this donation and kind of move on and be in a better relationship with the guy in the White House.

[Sean Elly]

It seems alarming that the biggest tech companies and media companies in the world are so scared of this administration. I mean, that's the thing I can't get over because, I mean, obviously Joe Schmo lives in fear, but like the mouse, the house of Mouse, abc, George Stephanopoulos, like, these are people whose job it is to stand up to the government. Why aren't they flexing Emily?

[Emily Stewart]

I mean, I do think it's important to recognize that a lot of publicly traded companies, big corporations, answer to their shareholders. And their shareholders might be looking around right now and saying, hey, if you play ball with this administration, this is going to be better for us overall. Right. You think of an Apple that recently made a big announcement about investments in the United States and jobs in the United States. Apple's also facing a scenario where it may be facing the US Putting tariffs on goods from China. And so there's a world where it's like, okay, I'm nice to Donald Trump today. Say, hey, buddy, we're making all these investments. And when those tariffs do come down, maybe you get an exception or maybe you can at least get him on the phone to talk. And so I do think there is some level of this is for better or for worse kind of smart business, but also, like I said before, a lot of these companies don't want to be a target. And it's not just of the president, and it's not just of a lawsuit. You think about these social media campaigns like, I think a lot about Bud light. Back in 2023 this month, I celebrated.

[Matt Visor]

My day 365 of womanhood, and Bud.

[Emily Stewart]

Light sent me possibly the best gift ever, a can with my face on it. Huge blow up over a teeny, tiny marketing campaign that they did with a transgender influencer. And that really hurt their business and it hurt their reputation, which is why.

[Sean Elly]

Their latest super bowl commercials feature Post Malone, Shane Gillis, and a whole lot of, like, beer and barbecue.

[Emily Stewart]

Your mower smokes meat.

[Sean Elly]

Oh, a smoker cuts grass.

[Emily Stewart]

Hell, yeah.

[Sean Elly]

I wonder, you know, it seems like there are sometimes risks of doing business this way. Are there risks to all of these companies who are falling in line right now and hoping for a good deal with Donald Trump as the years follow?

[Emily Stewart]

Yeah. You think about kind of, let's say back in 2017 or Trump's first term. Right. And there were companies didn't play as much footsie with Trump as they are right now, but a lot of them did join these kind of advisory councils to the president and around Charlottesville when there were racist riots in Charlottesville, and the president said that you also had people that were very fine people on both sides. All of these companies backed out. So we're quitting the council. We're quitting the council. Under pressure, six executives have now resigned in protest from the President's 28 member manufacturing council.

[Sean Elly]

Campbell's Soup CEO Denise Morrison was the latest to distance herself, saying Trump needs to be unambiguous in denouncing white supremacists.

[Emily Stewart]

And that, I think, was an example of a moment where a lot of companies, it wound up turning around on them and kind of being a moment of bad publicity for being a part of these councils. That being said, they're all back now. Everybody's fine.

[Sean Elly]

Well, Emily, before we go, I wonder, you know, for those of us who don't like to live in fear, are there any businesses out there marching to the beat of their own drum in this perilous moment for American industry?

[Emily Stewart]

Yeah, I mean, like Costco, Costco, JP Morgan have both come out and said, we are sticking with our DEI initiatives. This is how we are doing things. I do think it's important to point out, too, like, just because you're not talking about it as much doesn't mean you're not doing this kind of stuff. What's going on internally is much more important than kind of what you're saying in a little annual report to the sec.

[Sean Elly]

And while I don't buy my eggs at Costco, I do recall, do you, the price of a hot dog at Costco.

[Emily Stewart]

It's a dollar, right? You know, I've never been to Costco, but it's a dollar.

[Matt Visor]

You're such a city girl.

[Sean Elly]

It's $1.50, Emily. It's been $1.50 for like 50 years. Since the dawn of time, it's been $1.50.

[Emily Stewart]

Well, okay. One.

[Sean Elly]

Emily Stewart, business insider.com formerly of vox.com where she's missed. Avishai Artsy is still here. He produced today's show with Travis Larchuk. They were edited by Jolie Myers, fact checked by Laura Bullard and mixed by Andrea Christensdotter and Patrick Boyd. This is America Explained. All right, Sean, you can do this promo. Talking about all the great Vox Media podcasts that are going to be on.

[Matt Visor]

Stage live at south by Southwest this March.

[Sean Elly]

You just need a big idea to get people's attention, to help them, you know, keep them from hitting the skip button. I don't know. I'm gonna throw it out to the group Chat. Kara, do you have any ideas? In these challenging times, we're a group.

[Emily Stewart]

Of mighty hosts who have banded together to fight disinformation by speaking truth to power.

[Sean Elly]

Like the Avengers, but with more spandex.

[Emily Stewart]

What do you think, Scott?

[Matt Visor]

I'm more of an X Men fan myself.

[Sean Elly]

Call me Professor.

[Matt Visor]

Can I read minds?

[Emily Stewart]

I can't really read minds, but I.

[Matt Visor]

Can empathize with anyone having a midlife crisis.

[Sean Elly]

Which is essentially any tech leader.

[Emily Stewart]

So minds are important, Scott, but we're more than that.

[Sean Elly]

I think that you can't really separate minds from feelings. And we need to talk about our.

[Emily Stewart]

Emotions and explore the layers of our.

[Sean Elly]

Relationships with our partners, co workers, our families, neighbors, and our adjacent communities.

[Emily Stewart]

I just want to add a touch more. From sports and culture to tech and politics, Vox Media has an all star lineup of podcasts that's great in your feeds, but even better live.

[Sean Elly]

That's it. All Stars. Get your game on, go play. Come see a bunch of Vox Media All Stars and also me at south by Southwest on the Vox Media Podcast stage, presented by Smartsheet and Intuit, March 8th through 10th in Austin, Texas. Go to VoxMedia.coms XSW. You'll never know if you don't go. You'll never shine if you don't glow.