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Credit: Gage Skidmore, Flickr; DisneyIt’s no secret that Donald Trump is not a fan of The Walt Disney Company. The president has voiced his discontent with the Mouse House and ABC — which is owned by Disney — for years, claiming they have discriminated against him. He even went so far as to demand that Bob Iger fire everyone at ABC.
Of course, that has not happened and Mr. Trump has kept ABC and Disney in his sights and on his bad side.
Most recently, the FCC launched an investigation into Disney and its DEI practices. Trump appointee Brendan Carr informed Disney and ABC that they were being “investigated for “DEI Discrimination.”
Related: Disney Tanks Under Donald Trump’s Tariffs, Along With Rest of Wall Street
Earlier this week, Trump announced new tariffs against more than 180 countries. This announcement sent Wall Street into a tailspin and had companies wondering how they were going to cope with the drastic changes.
One of those companies is, of course, Disney. And while Bob Iger might appear calm in public, behind closed doors he is apparently sounding the alarm on just how badly these tariffs could impact Disney and its various businesses around the world.
Related: What the Heck Happened to Bob Iger?!
According to a report from TheWrap, Mr. Iger unexpectedly showed up at an editorial meeting at ABC News. And those who were in the meeting, he appeared to be speaking off the cuff, letting everyone know just how concerned he was.
The executive, according to a report from Oliver Darcy’s Status newsletter, expressed concern that relocating overseas manufacturing to the U.S. “speedily” is impossible, and also indicated that most people “don’t really understand how tariffs work.” Anonymous staffers who were present at the meeting told Darcy that the latter comment appeared to be his push for ABC News to connect the dots for readers and viewers.
As discussion of the tariffs and the ABC newsroom’s coverage strategy continued, staffers described Iger as continuously jumping into the conversation to share his thoughts and offer more of what Darcy said were “unfiltered views.” He expressed concern for Disney’s cruise line — particularly two new ships that rely on steel for their construction and how the company may have to scale back spending if costs rise too high.
While Disney does employ thousands of people within the United States, they have thousands of overseas manufacturing jobs. With the new tariffs in place, pMr. Iger is reportedly worried about hiring people in the US and giving them the highly specialized training their foreign counterpart have. Noting that it could take quite a while to accomplish that goal.
Trump’s tariffs will go into effect on Saturday, April 5. The stock market has already plummeted in the days since the tariffs were announced. There is no way to know how much it will continue to drop once they take effect.
How worried should Bob Iger be about the upcoming tariffs? Fo you think it will have a largely negative impact on not only the company, but the guest experience as a whole? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.