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Trump Slams ‘Very Disappointing’ Boeing but It’s His Most Loyal Dow Ally

Last Updated September 23, 2020 1:31 PM
Mark Emem
Last Updated September 23, 2020 1:31 PM
  • Boeing’s current state is letting down President Donald Trump.
  • Insiders at the aerospace and defense giant are relatively more supportive of POTUS. Other leading Dow stocks? Not so much.
  • Overall, Democratic presidential candidates have a lot of catching up to do with regards to fundraising.

President Donald Trump made his feelings known on the troubles facing Boeing (NYSE:BA) recently over the grounding of its 737 Max jet and it’s not pretty.

Pushed to comment on the plane maker’s decision to push the return to service of its beleaguered narrow-body aircraft on CNBC, Trump stated he felt let-down :

Very disappointing company… I’m so disappointed about it. Had a tremendous impact. When you talk about growth it’s so big that some people say it’s more than half a point of GDP. So Boeing, big big disappointment to me. Big disappointment.

Friend in High Places offers Boeing Tough Love

If campaign donations are anything to go by, insiders at the aerospace and defense giant might not take those comments kindly. Among the top five Dow stocks by their percentage weight in the index, the planemaker is easily the most Trump- and Republican-friendly based on insider contributions. Currently, Boeing’s percentage weight in the index is 7.18%, only second to Apple’s 7.38%. UnitedHealth Group, Goldman Sachs and Home Depot follow with 6.98%, 5.74% and 5.41% respectively.

Boeing
Boeing is having a topsy ride of late that’s largely due to the controversies surrounding the 737 Max (pictured). | Source: Shutterstock

Besides donating to Trump’s reelection campaign, Boeing insiders have also donated heavily to Republican groups . Per the Center for Responsive Politics, Boeing is, for instance, the largest contributor to Republican-affiliated Defend America PAC.

Among presidential candidates (those still running and those already out of the race), Trump is the 3rd-largest recipient of donations. The candidates beating him at Boeing are Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

Boeing
Among the Dow Big 5 companies, this is Trump’s best performance | Source: OpenSecrets.org

If Donald Trump Sees a Glass Half-Full, it’s a Win

This might not seem much but it is Trump’s best performance relative to how he has fared with insiders at Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Home Depot (NYSE:HD).

Donald Trump’s worst performance is easily at Apple. He is the 14th largest recipient of insider donations . He trails almost the entire Democratic field including those who have already bowed out. The contrast between what Trump received and the top recipient is striking. Bernie Sanders leads the field with a haul of $88,525. Trump is out-donated by Sanders by multiples of over 80 having received $1,223.

At UnitedHealth, Trump ranks seventh in donations made to presidential candidates in the 2020 cycle. In the case of UnitedHealth, insiders of the healthcare giant have favored  Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren over Trump. Kamala Harris, who is out of the race, also ranks ahead of Trump.

Top 5 Dow Stock betrays Wall Street’s jitters over Warren and Sanders

Trump is again in the seventh position at Goldman Sachs . On the bright side of it, he outraises the candidate he is most likely to face in the general based on the most recent national polls  – Sanders. Trump also beats Warren who, like Sanders, has proposed policies considered unfriendly to Wall Street.

Though Trump performs better at Home Depot where he is the third most popular candidate  by donations, he only receives $7,124. This is three times less than is the case at Boeing. The margin between him and the leading recipient of donations, Sanders, is also higher at nearly four times. Additionally, insiders at the home improvement retailer have not contributed generously to Republican groups.

But while Democratic presidential candidates have outraised Trump among the five Dow companies, he has outdone all of them individually .

Donald Trump
Source: Twitter 

Trump received $46 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. Sanders got $34.5 million while Buttigieg obtained $24.7 million during the same period. Biden and Andrew Yang took fourth and fifth positions, respectively hauling $22.7 million and $16.5 million.