Over the weekend, news of an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump rocked the nation, prompting an outpouring of responses. GM CEO Mary Barra took to social media to wish Trump well and condemn the violence. Although Barra’s relationship with the former president has been somewhat contentious over the years, the GM CEO expressed her wishes for a full recovery, while also extending her thoughts to the victims of the incident.
I wish President Trump all the best for a full recovery, and I’m sending my thoughts to the innocent victims of yesterday’s senseless act. There is no room for political violence in our society.
— Mary Barra (@mtbarra) July 14, 2024
In a post made to X, Barra stated, “I wish President Trump all the best for a full recovery, and I’m sending my thoughts to the innocent victims of yesterday’s senseless act.”
The incident occurred during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where the former president was delivering a speech. The assailant, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, fired multiple rounds at the stage, apparently striking Trump in the ear. The attacker was killed by law enforcement, while Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief attending the rally, was struck by one of the rounds fired at the stage and killed. Others were wounded.
The attack prompted a wave of public condemnation, including from President Biden, who stated, “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.”
Trump and CEO Barra were occasionally at odds during Trump’s presidency. Back in 2020, GM announced that it would mass-produce medical ventilator equipment in support of a surge in COVID-19 patients in need of treatment. After hashing out a deal with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, GM agreed to produce tens of thousands of new ventilators. However, the deal momentarily stalled, prompting a rebuke from the president and harsh criticism for Barra on Twitter. The deal did eventually go through, and in June of 2020, Barra indicated that “all is well” between GM and the president, and that the deal was finalized prior to the tweets.
Nevertheless, Barra ended up skipping out on an invitation to attend a dinner at the White House the following month in July of 2020. All three CEOs of the Big Three Detroit automakers (Ford CEO Jim Hackett and FCA CEO Mike Manley) were also invited, but declined as well.
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