zlacker

>>chmayn+(OP)
> It’s folly to think these CEOs should steer their companies into direct confrontation with Trump.

…Are Apple and Google combined really not powerful enough to take on Trump?

This smacks of learned helplessness to me.

>>yaksha+3b
No, they’re absolutely not

>>alexfo+Mb
I am ignorant and I don't know how to quantify any of these things, but it just seems strange to me that entities accounting for such a large part of the US economy have no leverage over 47.

A topic in the news lately is the upcoming midterm elections. Could they not threaten him with an aggressive informational warfare type of campaign? After all, he benefitted from the coordinated influence campaign that russia undertook during the 2016 elections.

>>yaksha+sd
They have some leverage over his party politically or him as a candidate, but as a sitting president (especially one as unhinged as he is), his power is absurd.

Apple and Googles revenue combine to around 3% of US GDP (substantial!), but it’s not like they would threaten to take that elsewhere or stop selling in the US or something. The ways they can “hurt” Trump hurt them and the rest of the country also. But Trump can do targeted damage to them across many avenues with a stroke of the pen (or even a Tweet)