Recently, Boeing, one of America's biggest airline manufacturers, has been on the receiving end of the US President-elect's sharp rebuke. The scrutiny is in line with the giant company's pending order for a new presidential plane.
On Twitter, upcoming US President Donald Trump has taken a swipe against the famous American organization with regards to the pricing of aircraft Air Force One. He cites the numeric manipulation of the unit cost.
The declared $4 billion rate for a new 747 presidential air transport is reason enough for the next US Commander-in-Chief to get mad. The response has been swift and direct as Trump ordered the immediate cancellation of the purchase request.
Although the popularity of the Air Force One has catapulted the issue on the headlines, it is the impact of the new President's action that has garnered greater attention. The last time an American President fumed publicly has occurred in the 1960s.
Around that time, then President John F. Kennedy has called out the steel industry about its unjustified price increase. Trump has relived that event this time against another significant American company.
It is vital to note that the new President's attack has exposed the vulnerability of the leaders of big US enterprises. By hitting them publicly, Trump has sent a strong message that reinforces his political objectives.
Although outgoing President Barack Obama has reprimanded Wall Street and the rest of the financial circle after the 2008 fiasco involving the collapse of the Lehman Brothers, his criticism has been aimed at no one in particular.
Within a short period of time, Trump has already chastised three US companies. First, he has singled out the Ford plant in Kentucky about its planned transfer of jobs. Then he has lashed out against United Technologies and its subsidiary Carrier with regards to the manufacturing occupations in Indiana. Boeing is the latest to be criticized openly.
Despite such outrage, Trump has also been willing to accommodate businesses that are aligned with his plans. Lately, tech group SoftBank has been warmly received at Trump Tower by no less than the President-elect himself after the Japanese firm invested $50 billion in the US.
Investor Masayoshi Son has been called by Trump as one of the great men of the industry. The Japanese billionaire will be funding a merger of wireless company Sprint into T-Mobile whose previous unification attempt has been denied by the Obama administration.
After Trump's tweet, Boeing has said that a $170-million contract to reconfigure Air Force One is in place. The statement may just have blown the billion dollar cost declaration.
