(PatriotWise.com) — The progressive group Color for Change is warning corporations not to sponsor the upcoming Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Color for Change President Rashad Robinson announced that the group planned to launch a pressure campaign against any corporation that might consider sponsoring the Republican convention, where Trump is expected to receive the Republican nomination.
The threat from the far-left group, which ran a similar pressure campaign in 2016 and has also pressured corporations to pull advertising from right-leaning networks like One America News, underscores the danger for corporate sponsors in today’s polarized politics.
Some major corporations that have previously sponsored political conventions have expressed hesitation about hitching their brand to either the Republican or Democratic conventions this year over fear of backlash.
So far, only two corporations, AT&T and Fiserv Inc., have confirmed plans to participate in this summer’s Democratic and Republican conventions. AT&T will be providing network connectivity to both events, while Fiserv plans to be a sponsor of both. The Republican convention is being held at Fiserv Forum.
However, corporate donors who have previously sponsored Republican conventions have been hanging back this year over fears of a public backlash, according to sources.
At the same time, since major corporations don’t want to appear to be taking sides in the political fight, if they avoid the Republican convention, they will likely avoid sponsoring the Democratic convention as well.
Sponsorships for the conventions run anywhere from $100,000 to $5 million.
This year’s conventions will be the first in-person events since 2016, after the pandemic lockdowns in 2020 forced that year’s conventions to go “virtual.”
While the RNC is courting potential sponsors for the Milwaukee convention, a representative from the Host Committee would not say what corporations have so far signed on.
Host Committee Chair Reince Priebus said in a recent interview that, given the close race between Trump and Biden, there had been increased corporate interest in sponsoring the Republican convention.
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