American automakers have created 'task forces' to monitor President Trump's tweeting

Auto industry executives have their first meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, but they've already long been pondering how they'll work with the new president. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that instead of spending the end of 2016 preparing for the year ahead, the auto industry was focused on getting ready for the Trump administration:
Union bosses are being called in to consult on how to reshuffle factory work, board members are trying to figure out who has friends in President Donald Trump's new administration, and task forces have been created to monitor his Twitter account.At a dinner party during the Detroit auto show earlier this month, Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Mark Fields said he reread Mr. Trump's The Art of the Deal over the holidays. He first read it in the 1980s, but wants to better understand the new occupant of the Oval Office. [Wall Street Journal]
Trump's tweeting in particular is a concern for auto industry executives, as many admit they're not very familiar with the social media platform. Ford's Fields doesn't "actively tweet from a personal account," Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne "doesn't use Twitter," and GM Chief Executive Mary Barra "uses the tool sparingly," The Wall Street Journal reported.
But with Trump repeatedly dinging automakers on Twitter for considering offshoring manufacturing, auto execs have realized they're "going to have to learn to respond," Marchionne said. Since being elected, Trump has taken to calling out specific automakers on Twitter, including Ford and General Motors, and his tweeted promises of imposing hefty border taxes have sent the companies' respective stocks in a downward spiral, if only temporarily.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
At the meeting Tuesday, auto industry executives from General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler will reportedly try to convince Trump that his demand for "new plants to be built here for cars sold here" might be easier said than done.
For more on automakers' Trump preparation, head over to The Wall Street Journal.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-war
Talking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
Crossword: September 14, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Sudoku medium: September 14, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year