Stateside's conversation with Keith Naughton, a reporter for Bloomberg News
During the presidential campaign, candidate Donald Trump blasted Ford Motor Company for building cars in Mexico. But despite the rocky start, a recent Bloomberg pieceexplains how Bill Ford, Jr., executive chairman of Ford Motor Company, is trying to maintain a relationship with the president.
Keith Naughton wrote that article for Bloomberg, and he joined Stateside to talk about the pair's evolving relationship, which he describes as a "delicate dance."
Naughton gave us a breakdown of what's known of the pair's relationship up to this point:
Trump and Ford have been in touch, either over the phone or in person, since Trump was elected. Ford met with Trump at Trump Tower to set the record straight regarding Ford’s more than 90-year history of building cars in Mexico, and its investment in American auto plants.
Also after the election, Ford called Trump when the company canceled plans to move production of a Lincoln SUV from a plant in Kentucky to a plant in Mexico. Trump was then quick on the Twitter finger, and sent out a message taking credit for saving that plant.
Now the pair's relationship is taking another turn. Ford Motor Company came out against the president's executive order on immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries. The company said the order went against company values, but was careful not to specifically criticize the White House.
Listen to the full interview above to learn what conversations between Bill Ford and Donald Trump are like, including how both sometimes find themselves "speaking in sound bites."
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