Toyota Defends Donating to Republicans and Undeterred By Boycott Threats

July 7, 2021

TOYOTA CITY, Japan—The world’s largest automaker and 10th richest company in the world—right after Amazon—has drawn fierce criticism for donating to Republican members of Congress who refused to certify the 2020 election result.

Toyota defended its donations.

“We do not believe it is appropriate to judge members of Congress solely based on their votes on the electoral certification,” a Toyota spokesman told Axios, which reported the Japanese giant donated $55,000 to 37 elected GOP members of Congress.

Emmy winner Melissa Jo Peltier tweeted, “Hello Toyota? I’ve had my Lexus since 2012. Second one. Loved them both. Was looking at your new models for 2022. Now, though, there will not be a third one until you clean up your act.”

Howard Dean tweeted, “Toyota makes great cars. But they are a threat to American democracy.”

“Based on our thorough review, we decided against giving to some members who, through their statements and actions, undermine the legitimacy of our elections and institutions,” Toyota added.

This isn’t the first time Toyota has come under fire. Back in 2015, the United States government grilled Toyota on why so many members of ISIS drove Toyota trucks in the African and Arabian deserts. The truck’s reliability allowed ISIS to rapidly distribute troops to key locations during their “Caliphate Blitzkrieg.”

Many Toyota Hilux and Tacomas actually survived indirect missile attacks by drones and were still operational, while stolen Humvees from American military bases in Iraq with similar damage were rendered inoperable, one report stated.

Further reports found Toyota was unrealistically blamed for not screening for “middlemen” who would purchase their trucks and resell them to ISIS.

Toyota has a “strict policy to not sell vehicles to potential purchasers who may use or modify them for paramilitary or terrorist activities,” stated Ed Lewis, Toyota’s Washington-based director for public policy and communications.

American media attempts to villainize Toyota were quickly thwarted when Japanese citizens pointed out Henry Ford was a Nazi, donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Nazi party, wrote anti-Semitic books and GM supplied the German military with vehicles and transmissions they used to invade the Soviet Union.

Features Images via Instagram

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