McConnell Walks Back Stand Against Corporations ‘Taking A Position’ On Political Issues

This week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) told corporations not to speak out on political issues. The Kentucky senator warned “corporate America to stay out of politics.” McConnell who has a long history to collecting millions from U.S. firms, quickly added, “I’m not talking about political contributions.”

McConnell’s comments came at a Tuesday news conference in Louisville, Kentucky, in which the senator was discussing the MLB’s decision to move their All-Star game out of Georgia in protest of the state’s new restrictive voting law. Since Georgia passed the law, several corporations including Delta Airlines and Coca-Cola have condemned the law.

“You know, Republicans drink Coca-Cola, too,” McConnell said to reporters. “And we fly. And we like baseball. This is a pretty competitive political environment in America as I just pointed out, a 50-50 Senate. If I were running a major corporation, I’d stay out of politics.”

“It’s not what you’re designed for,” McConnell said. “And don’t be intimidated by the left into taking up causes that put you right in the middle of one of America’s greatest political debates.”

“I’m not talking about political contributions,” McConnell added. “Most of them contribute to both sides, they have political action committees, that’s fine. It’s legal, it’s appropriate, I support that. I’m talking about taking a position on a highly incendiary issue like this and punishing a community or a state, because you don’t like a particular law that passed, I just think it’s stupid.”