Toyota to stop donating to Republicans who opposed electoral certification

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Japanese automaker Toyota said Thursday it would stop contributing to Republican members of Congress who on Jan.6 voted against certification of the 2020 election results after a PAC said he would start running ads criticizing companies for such donations.

Toyota’s decision to donate to these lawmakers after Jan. 6 “confused some stakeholders,” and for that reason “we have decided to stop contributing to these members of Congress,” the company said in a statement.

The move took place after a ad by the Lincoln Project, a PAC formed by Republicans to defeat then-President Donald Trump in 2020, that it would target companies that donated to Republicans who opposed the formalization of the presidential victory of Joe Biden in 2020. An ad aimed at Toyota aired Thursday.

“Toyota made the right choice today,” the Lincoln Project posted on Twitter after Toyota’s overthrow.

The Lincoln Project also criticized cable company Comcast for refusing to broadcast their advertising and “choosing instead to protect corporate advertisers,” the group said in a tweet. Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News. A Comcast representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump and his supporters have spent months trying to sow doubt and overturn the election results, culminating in an effort to derail the Electoral College’s official vote count on January 6 when a crowd of his supporters attacked the Capitol.

After the crowd was evacuated from the building, 147 Republicans voted to support objections to the Arizona tally.

Toyota had previously defended their donations, saying the contributions were “based on their position on issues of importance to the auto industry and the business.”

“We do not think it is appropriate to judge members of Congress solely on the basis of their votes on electoral certification. Based on our careful consideration, we have decided not to give certain members who by their statements and their actions, undermine the legitimacy of our elections and institutions, ”a company spokesperson previously said.