{"id":8219,"date":"2025-12-11T19:42:50","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T19:42:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2025\/12\/11\/costco-stayed-out-of-politics-then-it-sued-donald-trump-usa-today\/"},"modified":"2025-12-11T19:42:50","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T19:42:50","slug":"costco-stayed-out-of-politics-then-it-sued-donald-trump-usa-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2025\/12\/11\/costco-stayed-out-of-politics-then-it-sued-donald-trump-usa-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Costco stayed out of politics. Then it sued Donald Trump. – USA Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dec. 10, 2025Updated Dec. 11, 2025, 2:18 p.m. ET<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Last week, Costco<\/a> nominated Gina Raimondo to its board of directors, a former Biden administration official who has expressed skepticism about President Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s handling of tariffs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The announcement of Raimondo, who led the Commerce Department and played a significant role in U.S. trade policy, came less than a week after Costco sued the Trump administration<\/a> to ensure its eligibility for a full refund if the Supreme Court<\/a> strikes down tariffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cCostco isn’t even pretending anymore. They’re openly stacking the board with Democratic operatives while waging legal war against the administration’s economic agenda,\u201d Lebanese Australian entrepreneur Mario Nawfal,<\/strong> an influential commentator on U.S. politics, said<\/a> in a social media post on X that garnered more than 200,00 views. \u201cVote with your wallet accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was not the first time Costco took a position out of step with the administration. Despite mounting pressure<\/a> from Trump and anti-diversity, equity and inclusion activists, earlier this year,<\/a> Costco doubled down<\/a> on its DEI policies<\/a> even as other corporations abandoned theirs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n

Presidents wield considerable influence over the corporate world, but none more than Trump<\/a>. His expansive use of executive power and iron grip on the GOP base has given him an unusual sway over how businesses operate. CEOs make pilgrimages to the Oval Office, bearing gifts<\/a> and promises of donations to Trump projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Can Costco continue to dodge the volatile politics of the Trump era? Its rebuke of Trump\u2019s signature economic policy has sowed discord in its otherwise faithful ranks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Customers<\/figure>\n

Can Costco duck Trump backlash?<\/h2>\n

In a public Facebook group called \u201cCostco Uncensored,\u201d the usual chatter about free samples, $1.50 hot dogs and product picks and pans<\/a> turned to politics as word of the lawsuit spread, generating hundreds of dueling comments per post.<\/p>\n

\u201cCostco suing government over tariffs! I will be canceling my card,\u201d one person posted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHaha,\u201d responded a commenter. \u201cI am glad one corporation is standing up to the dictatorship. Costco has my business.\u201d<\/p>\n

As political infighting made the usual arguments over Costco’s lenient return policy<\/a> look tame by comparison, tempers boiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will cancel my membership and boycott them permanently,\u201d one person replied on a post about the tariffs lawsuit.<\/p>\n

Scoffed another: \u201cCostco isn\u2019t an airport, you don\u2019t have to announce your departure before leaving over the tariff lawsuit.\u201d<\/p>\n

From DEI to tariffs, is Costco \u2018woke\u2019?<\/h2>\n

During a September earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip said Costco has tried to insulate members from steep tariff hikes and has kept prices for many goods from surging.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have absorbed costs ourselves and challenged ourselves to offset those costs to protect the member,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"President<\/figure>\n

In its lawsuit, Costco took issue with \u201cthe pell-mell manner by which these on-again\/off-again\u201d tariffs were \u201cthreatened, modified, suspended and re-imposed, with the markets gyrating in response.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Paul Argenti, a professor of corporate communication at Dartmouth\u2019s Tuck School of Business, said Costco is not taking much of a political risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Costco is doing is not what I would consider very \u2018woke\u2019<\/a> or something to get fired up about,\u201d Argenti said.\u00a0\u201cCostco knows who they are, they have a strong set of values and they are sticking to them. In the end, they are going to be rewarded for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tariffs unpopular with Americans<\/h2>\n

In an interview with Politico this week, Trump gave himself an \u201cA-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus\u201d grade on the economy<\/a>. Tariffs, however, are broadly unpopular with Americans.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n

A Yahoo\/YouGov poll conducted Nov. 21-24 found that 52% of Americans say tariffs have done more harm<\/a> to the economy in the short-term, and 43% said they’ve had longer-term negative effects. Just 26% said tariffs have done short-term good, and 32% said they have had positive long-term effects.<\/p>\n

Trump voters have also soured on tariffs, with 22% saying tariffs are boosting the economy now and in the long term, according to a Politico poll, also conducted in November. More than a third \u2013 36% \u2013 said tariffs are harming the economy now but will benefit it over time.<\/p>\n

Do politics influence Costco shoppers?<\/h2>\n

In a retail world filled with fickle shoppers, Costco commands cult-like allegiance<\/a>. That copious goodwill is the result of members believing that Costco has their back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Costco stocks far fewer items than most giant retailers but lures value-minded shoppers with a curated assortment of quality goods at low prices, ranging from wagyu beef and Dubai chocolates to laundry soap and toilet paper. Members show off their Kirkland Signature-branded clothing and dash off to Costco several times a week to cruise the aisles and munch on samples.<\/p>\n

Market research firm Kantar estimates Costco clears $530,000 in sales per minute in the United States.\u00a0And Costco raked in almost $270 million in membership fees alone last year. Kantar data shows that 95% of Costco members plan to renew their membership. The politics of the day seem to have little bearing on that decision.<\/p>\n

When Costco stood by its diversity policies, anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck<\/a> said he expected “a good deal” of members would cancel their memberships.<\/p>\n

While some in its famously loyal membership base groused, Costco suffered no discernible political consequences.<\/p>\n

Costco members are unlikely to change their minds now, said David Primo, professor of political science and business administration at the University of Rochester in New York \u2212 in large part because \u201cwhen you walk into a Costco, you don\u2019t feel like you are being preached to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRepublican voters still largely support Trump’s tariffs, and Raimondo is a former President Joe Biden<\/a> appointee, so on its face, these would seem to be risky moves. But it\u2019s important to remember that Costco is different from brands like Target or Bud Light<\/a> that have been caught in conservative crosshairs,\u201d Primo said. \u201cIts consumer base is fiercely loyal, in part because there are fewer substitutes for its mix of offerings. Boycotting Target is easy. Boycotting Costco would require a lifestyle adjustment for many.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dec. 10, 2025Updated Dec. 11, 2025, 2:18 p.m. ET Last week, Costco nominated Gina Raimondo to its board of directors, a former Biden administration official who has expressed skepticism about President Donald Trump\u2019s handling of tariffs. The announcement of Raimondo, who led the Commerce Department and played a significant role in U.S. trade policy, came […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8219\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}