Target gave $1M to Trump inauguration fund, a first for the company

Mike Hughlett, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Apr 30, 2025

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Target has donated to both Democratic and Republican causes, but never to an inauguration fund until this year.

The Minneapolis-based retailer donated $1 million to President Donald Trump’s inauguration festivities, according to a recent filing with the Federal Election Commission.

Target was far from alone: Dozens of big-name companies including Delta Air Lines ponied up $1 million to usher in Trump’s second term, which set a record for corporate inaugural largesse.

Pilgrim’s Pride and Abbott Laboratories and other companies with operations in Minnesota also contributed.

But Target’s donation came shortly before the company publicly retreated from its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals. The DEI announcement came four days after Trump took office and started going after diversity programs within the federal government, on college campuses and at companies.

A Target spokesperson confirmed the company’s donation to President Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee and that the company had never donated to other inaugural efforts.

“We work with elected officials at all levels of government to provide the best retail experience for the more than 2,000 communities we’re proud to serve,” a Target spokesperson said in a statement.

Target is now experiencing the consequences of the president’s tariff policy.

About 50% of its merchandise is imported, Rick Gomez, chief commercial officer for Target, said in March. And the company has predicted flat comparable sales and lower profit margins due to the tariffs and other economic uncertainties.

Target CEO Brian Cornell joined Trump and other retail chiefs last week to discuss the impact of tariffs, saying the meeting was “productive.”

Target was one of three major retailers contributing to Trump’s 2025 inauguration.

Amazon also contributed $1 million, while Walmart gave $150,000, according to the election commission filing.

Trump’s inaugural committee raised $239 million, topping the previous record of $107 million for Trump’s first term inauguration. Former President Joe Biden’s inaugural committee — which barred contributions from oil and gas companies — raised about $62 million in 2020.

Oil companies were particularly generous donors to Trump’s inauguration. Financial and tech companies also gave big. Fast-food giant McDonald’s kicked in $1 million, too.

Besides Delta, one other major airline donated — United Airlines, also for $1 million.

Delta and its air travel peers have felt economic pressure, too, from Trump’s fast-changing tariff policy. Top airlines have cut services and jettisoned full-year earnings guidance as consumer demand stalled out, leading to a downturn in domestic bookings.

A Delta spokesperson declined to comment on the company’s donation to Trump’s inauguration.

Pilgrim’s Pride, a big chicken processor, made the largest single donation to the Trump inaugural, at $5 million. Pilgrim’s Pride is majority-owned by JBS, a global meatpacker that also has a large pork-packing plant in Worthington, Minnesota.

Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved JBS’ request to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, which had drawn opposition from environmental groups.

Pilgrim’s Pride has had its share of controversy in recent years.

Pilgrim’s Pride in January reached a final settlement of $100 million in a class-action suit lodged against it by chicken farmers who claimed they were underpaid. In early 2021, the chicken processor was sentenced to pay a $107 million fine after pleading guilty to federal charges of price fixing.

Aside from Target, one other Minnesota-headquartered company donated to Trump’s inauguration fund. Bloomington-based SAM Nutrition, which makes nutritional additives for animals and plants, gave $100,000.

Illinois-based Abbott Laboratories donated $500,000 to Trump’s inaugural. Charlotte, North Carolina-based Honeywell International also gave $500,000.

Poet, a Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based ethanol maker, donated $1 million, while Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, operator of two Minnesota taconite mines, gave about $106,000.

(Minnesota Star Tribune staff writers Carson Hartzog and Bill Lukitsch contributed to this story.)