Topline
The White House has created “dynamic scorecards” to measure U.S. companies’ loyalty and support for President Donald Trump’s agenda, a White House official confirmed to Forbes in an email Friday, revealing the grading system as it continues pressuring large firms to align with its economic and social policies.
The White House confirmed to Forbes an Axios report that the West Wing created a scorecard rating 553 companies on how strongly they have supported President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” seemingly allowing the White House to quickly gauge how they will approach future conversations or interactions with the listed companies.
The White House official told Forbes the dynamic scorecards “incorporate the support of present and future administration initiatives.”
In addition to considering companies’ support of Trump’s agenda, the scorecards also take into account companies’ social media posts, press releases, video testimonials, advertisements and attendance at White House events, Axios reported, noting companies' support is ranked as strong, moderate or low.
Axios cited as examples of “good” partners United, Delta, Uber, DoorDash, AT&T, Cisco, Airlines for America and the Steel Manufacturers Association.
An unnamed White House staffer told Axios the scorecards help “us see who really goes out and helps vs. those who just come in and pay lip service,” adding the gradings can change if “companies want to start advocating more now for the tax bill or additional administration priorities.”
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Delta and United lauded a provision within Trump’s megabill calling for a $12.5 billion investment for upgrading air traffic control systems, which came months after a passenger airliner crashed into an Army helicopter at Reagan National Airport, killing 67. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, publicly supported Trump’s "No Tax on Tips" policy implemented through the megabill. Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins also supported the bill and its corporate tax provisions.
In addition to supporting the “Big Beautiful Bill,” companies that have made investments into the U.S. economy may also receive positive grades. Apple is one of the largest tech companies likely in the good graces of the Trump administration, as the iPhone maker has committed $600 billion to domestic manufacturing slated to bring tens of thousands of jobs to the U.S. Amazon has made multiple multibillion-dollar investments in domestic cloud computing infrastructure, data centers and rural delivery networks, tacking on to other infrastructure and manufacturing investments from companies like NVIDIA, IBM and Johnson & Johnson. Companies like Amazon, Meta and Google have pulled back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives targeted by the Trump administration, which could curry favor with Trump.
Trump has had friction with some companies publicly, though it is not clear what companies have low marks, if any. Trump recently told CNBC that Bank of America and JPMorgan rejected him as a customer, adding fuel to conservatives’ claims they are discriminated against by big banks. Trump also called for the ouster of Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan this month over concerns about his business connections to hundreds of Chinese businesses, saying there was “no other solution to the problem.” Days later, following a meeting between Trump and Tan, reports surfaced that the Trump administration may be considering a stake in the tech company.
Trump has applied pressure on various companies to push his opposition to DEI initiatives, encourage domestic manufacturing and infrastructure and even get Coca-Cola to bring the cane sugar version of its flagship product to the U.S. One poignant example of the administration’s power came when the Federal Communications Commission approved an $8 billion merger between Paramount and Skydance Media, with Skydance vowing to end DEI considerations in hiring, promotions, development and compensation. It also agreed to produce news and entertainment programming that embodies “a diversity of viewpoints,” according to FCC Chair Brendan Carr. Cato Institute Chair Ryan Bourne told NBC News it is unprecedented for a president to use his power to suggest CEO firings, suggest how companies should set prices and carve out “firm-specific deals that directly pay the government.”
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