<img decoding="async" class="lazyload size-full-width wp-image-1601217" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://observer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/GettyImages-2194477841.jpg?quality=80&w=970" alt="Akio Toyoda standing against the backdrop of a race car.” width=”970″ height=”658″ data-caption=’Akio Toyoda delivers an address at CES 2025 on January 6, 2025. <span class=”lazyload media-credit”>Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images</span>’>
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda has some explaining to do after appearing at a race event in Japan on Sunday wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat and a red T-shirt emblazoned with photos of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. The image quickly caused a stir, especially given that Trump’s tariffs have cost Toyota billions. His appearance came days before Toyota announced it would invest an additional $912 million in U.S. manufacturing.
Toyoda, a grandson of Toyota’s founder, Kiichiro Toyoda, wore the controversial outfit at the final event of Japan’s ENOS Super Taikyu Series. Toyota hosted a NASCAR demonstration at its home track, attended by George Glass, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, and featuring six NASCAR cars flown in specifically for the occasion. Glass and Toyoda led the cars onto the track in a Ford F-150 in an overt display of Americana.
“The photo opportunity was intended to underscore our company’s support for efforts that strengthen U.S. industry and create new opportunities for American vehicles in Japan,” Toyota said in a statement to Observer, without addressing Toyoda’s choice to wear the MAGA-themed apparel.
Toyota has invested roughly $60 billion in the U.S. over the past 70 years and now operates 11 manufacturing plants across multiple states—many of them pro-Trump strongholds, including Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas, Tennessee, West Virginia and Alabama. Yesterday (Nov. 18), the company announced another $912 million investment in its U.S. operations, which will bring new jobs to Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky and West Virginia.
Most automakers have fallen in line under the current administration as tariffs continue to squeeze profit margins at major auto companies. In its earnings release earlier this month, Toyota detailed the damage: operating income fell by $3.3 billion from a year earlier for the fiscal half-year ended September, largely because of tariffs. In September, the Trump administration lowered tariffs on Japanese auto imports from 27.5 percent to 15 percent—still a substantial burden.
According to reporting from Road & Track, tariffs were clearly on Toyoda’s mind at the Japan event, and many observers interpreted his outfit as an attempt to curry favor with the President. Toyoda told reporters, “I’m not here to argue whether tariffs are good or bad. Every national leader wants to protect their own auto industry. We are exploring ways to make tariffs a winner for everyone. The people we want most to be winners are our customers.”
It’s no secret that many auto CEOs are trying to stay in the good graces of the mercurial Trump administration through both visible shows of support and political donations. Ahead of Trump’s second term in office, Toyota donated $1 million to his inauguration. According to OpenSecrets.org, the company donated more money to Republican states and politicians than to Democrats between 2023 and 2024.
While Toyoda’s choice of garb was remarkable for the chairman of a global automotive giant, one thing is clear: the images serve as a stark reminder of how deeply politics are now intertwined with global automaking and how much is at stake for these enormous companies.
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