Dive Brief:

• A labor group composed of Wal-Mart workers, Making Change at Wal-Mart, and advocacy groups The Black Institute, the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute, and ColorOfChange.org, Thursday asked the company, in a letter to CEO Doug McMillon, to join other companies in scaling back or dropping its support of the Republican National Convention in light of presumptive nominee Donald’s Trump’s “racist, misogynistic, anti-veteran, and Islamophobic” remarks.

• The group said it would stage protests at Wal-Mart stores and at Trump properties and would call on Wal-Mart customers to join in the protest if the company doesn’t respond by next week. It has also launched an online petition. 

• Wal-Mart has donated $15,000 to each party’s convention funds in an effort to support the political process, Wal-Mart spokesperson Greg Hitt told Bloomberg, and declined to comment on the groups' criticism of Trump.

Dive Insight:

Harvard economist John Kenneth Galbraith once said politics is “the art of choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable.” In that light, it seems wise for any retail business to tread carefully into political action, especially when feelings run hot.

Donald Trump has certainly added heat to the presidential race so far, and many of his remarks have drawn criticism from across the political spectrum. 

That has led many companies, including Coca-Cola Co., Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. Ford Motor Co., and Apple, to scale back or hold back sponsorship of the Republican convention in Cleveland next month, although some say they won’t support the Democrats’ convention, either.

Evidence suggests that consumers want companies to take a stand in political controversy. A 2014 study by policy and communications firm Global Strategy Group found that 80% of respondents believe corporations should take action on important issues in society, up from 72% a year before. In addition, 79% say that it’s appropriate for enterprises to advocate on an issue pertinent to their industry (up slightly from 78%), although many also agreed that “companies should tread carefully on controversial issues.”  

During the presidential election of 2012, Wal-Mart gave $150,000 in cash to the Republican convention, and the Walmart Foundation gave $50,000 to the Democratic convention, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from public finance records.

The request by Making Change at Wal-Mart may put the retailer in an uncomfortable spot by highlighting the issue. Generally speaking, Wal-Mart has a reputation for being less progressive than rival Target, in part due to its high-profile labor troubles, including its reputation for low wages, anti-union efforts, and even its recent decision to sit out the controversy surrounding the use of bathrooms and fitting rooms for transgender people. And Wal-Mart’s customer base may include many people who do support Trump and his views. 

In the bathroom dust-up, Target took a stand, pointedly noting that its policy was to allow people to use the bathroom that suits their identity. That has drawn a high level of protest from some quarters, though the company says it didn’t impact sales—some experts say it actually helps Target burnish its brand as a tolerant company.