US President Donald Trump has escalated his criticism and actions against executives, corporations and institutions. His unprecedented actions — from novel export deals to frozen university grants — have upended the status quo between the government, law, academia and corporate America.
On Friday, Trump called for the firing of Lisa Monaco, Microsoft’s global affairs president, calling her a “menace to US national security”.
Here are some influential figures and entities that Trump has publicly criticised:
Goldman Sachs
Goldman’s economic research arm had published a note in August that said US consumers had absorbed 22% of tariff costs to end-June, and their share could rise to 67% if the recent levies followed the same pattern as the earliest ones.
“David Solomon and Goldman Sachs refuse to give credit where credit is due,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, shortly thereafter.
Trump said it was mostly “companies and governments, many of them foreign, picking up the tabs”. He also took a dig at Solomon for his former DJ-ing hobby.
Intel
In early August, Trump demanded Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan step down due to China ties. Reuters had reported in April that Tan invested at least $200m in hundreds of Chinese advanced manufacturing and chip firms, some of which were linked to the Chinese military.
"The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Tan responded to Trump, saying he shared the president’s commitment to advancing US national and economic security and that the Intel board was “fully supportive of the work we are doing to transform our company”.
After a meeting between the two, Trump praised Tan and the US government decided to take a stake in the chipmaker.
Microsoft
Trump said on Friday the tech giant should fire Monaco, who served in the administrations of past Democratic presidents.
“She is a menace to US National Security, especially given the major contracts that Microsoft has with the United States government,” Trump said on Truth Social. “It is my opinion that Microsoft should immediately terminate the employment of Lisa Monaco.”
Trump said Monaco, in her position at Microsoft, would have access to highly sensitive information and her “having that kind of access is unacceptable, and cannot be allowed to stand”.
Monaco, who started working at Microsoft in July, was a security aide in former president Barack Obama’s administration and served as the deputy attorney-general in former president Joe Biden’s administration.
Tesla
The electric vehicle (EV) maker’s billionaire tech CEO, Elon Musk, spent hundreds of millions of dollars supporting Trump’s re-election, a move investors who bid up Tesla stock expected to benefit Musk’s empire.
Trump and Musk, however, fell out in June after Musk criticised Trump’s sweeping tax-cut and spending bill because it was projected to increase federal debt.
Responding to that on Truth Social, Trump threatened to cut federal subsidies and contracts to Musk’s companies and said the billionaire “just went CRAZY” after losing the EV mandate in the bill.
Adrian Mardell, former CEO of Jaguar Land Rover
Trump criticised Jaguar’s rebranding effort in August, calling the campaign “woke” and “stupid”, and linking it to the departure of the company’s CEO.
The remarks from Trump came as the British carmaker, owned by India’s Tata Motors, announced the retirement of CEO Adrian Mardell, who spent more than three decades at the company.
Jaguar last year unveiled a new logo and visual identity as part of a brand refresh aimed at repositioning itself as an EV maker, a move that drew sharp online backlash and criticism from brand loyalists.
Apple
Trump has repeatedly targeted Apple and its boss, Tim Cook, for making US-sold iPhones outside the country and has threatened company-specific tariffs.
In May, Trump recalled, after a meeting in the Qatari capital, Doha, that he had confronted Cook about the company’s plan to make most of its iPhones sold in the US at factories in India by end-2026.
Trump had said in a social media post he told Cook “long ago” that “I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else”.
Trump in early August announced Apple would invest an additional $100bn in the US, raising its total domestic commitment to $600bn over the next four years. Cook also gave Trump a US-made souvenir with a 24-karat gold base.
Amazon.com
Trump called Amazon’s former CEO, Jeff Bezos, in April to complain about a news report that said the company planned to display prices showing the impact of tariffs on e-commerce retailer Amazon.com.
However, Amazon said it had only briefly considered listing import charges for some goods in April following Trump’s tariff announcement, but dropped the plan as the White House accused the company of a “hostile political act”.
Trump later told reporters that Bezos had solved the problem “very quickly” and was “very nice”.
Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase
Trump in August alleged that BofA CEO Brian Moynihan and JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon discriminated against him and his supporters. Earlier he had said they did not provide banking services to conservatives.
"What you’re doing is wrong," Trump said, in a video address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Trump did not cite evidence or specifics of any wrongdoing, in a question-and-answer session with corporate leaders and CEOs assembled on stage.
He also referenced Dimon. “You and Jamie and everybody, I hope you’re gonna open your bank to conservatives.”
Both lenders have denied the allegations of “debanking” many times.
Walmart
Trump said in May Walmart and China should “eat the tariffs” and not burden American shoppers, after CEO Doug McMillon said the retailer could not absorb all tariff-related costs because of narrow retail margins.
“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain. Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected,” Trump said in a social media post.
While Trump did not call out McMillon personally, he publicly criticised Walmart for attributing its price hikes in May to tariffs imposed by his administration.
Cracker Barrel
The restaurant chain’s brief change in its logo — removing the long-standing image of an overall-clad man known as “Uncle Herschel” leaning against a barrel — is the most recent in a series of dustups where an unexpected response has blindsided retail chains.
Cracker Barrel in late August said it would stick with its decades-old logo, scrapping plans for a new one following social media backlash, including from Trump.
“Congratulations ‘Cracker Barrel’ on changing your logo back to what it was. All of your fans very much appreciate it,” Trump said on Truth Social after the company’s reversal.
Comcast
Trump criticised Comcast and its cable news network MSNBC for its news coverage of his administration. He said to reporters, “They’re changing the name because they’re ashamed of it, and they’re disassociating it from NBC,” referring to MSNBC’s name change to MS NOW.
In a post on his social media platform in August, Trump also called Comcast a “weak and ineffective owner … headed by … Brian Roberts”.
Smithsonian Institute
The White House has said it would lead an internal review of some Smithsonian museums and exhibitions ahead of the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.
In an executive order in March, Trump said the institution had come under the influence of a “divisive, race-centred ideology” in recent years.
Harvard University
Trump targeted the country’s oldest and richest university, cancelling about $2.5bn in federal grants, and mounted efforts to cut off research funding to Harvard, as a part of a larger campaign to force change at US universities, which Trump says are gripped by antisemitic and “radical left” ideologies.
“We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status. It’s what they deserve!” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform in May.
Columbia University
In March, the Trump administration said it was penalising Columbia University over how it handled last year’s protests by cancelling $400m in federal funding.
“This is the first arrest of many to come. We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it,” Trump said in a social media post.
The comments came after the arrest of Palestinian graduate student Mahmoud Khalil played a prominent role in the protests.
In July, the university said it would pay more than $200m to the US government in a settlement with Trump’s administration.
Law firms
Trump targeted law firm Perkins Coie in March with an executive order that suspended security clearances for its employees and restricted their access to federal buildings over its ties to Hillary Clinton and diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
Trump had said it was “an absolute honour to sign” the order. Trump also targeted New York law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in March with a similar order, which he later withdrew after striking a deal.
Law firm Covington & Burling faced Trump’s presidential memorandum in February, which suspended security clearances for Peter Koski and all Covington employees who assisted former special counsel Jack Smith, who prosecuted Trump.
Covington had said it would continue representing Jack Smith despite these measures.
“We’re going to continue holding the people who were responsible for the weaponisation of government — who supported it — accountable,” Trump had said.
Reuters
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