Does Pepsi Support Trump? PepsiCo CEO's Interview Sparks Outrage Amid "Hopeful" Tone

In today's starkly divided political landscape, everyone wants to know who people support. This drive to know where people stand also extends to corporations, whose dollars have the potential to add up to consequential and meaningful differences in policies and connections.

In January 2025, PepsiCo's CEO made some comments in an interview about the returning administration of President Donald Trump that raised some eyebrows.

The company, led by a woman until 2018, seemed to be striking a hopeful posture ahead of Trump's second administration. The interview sparked concern and outrage online, as social media users highlighted how intertwined corporations are with politics these days. Here's what we know about the interview that caused the backlash and where Pepsi stands.

The outrage started when Pepsi's CEO Ramon Laguarta sat down with CNBC to discuss what the incoming administration would mean for corporations, and specifically PepsiCo.

When asked if Trump's second administration would be good for consumer confidence, Ramon responded, "I think the Trump administration is going to be pro-growth, it's going to help consumers feel better. I think consumer confidence is a factor."

He added, "And also as far as companies, de-regulation will help as hopefully there's a reduction of taxes as well that will help us operate more efficiently in the US."

Overall, the CEO seemed to be striking a hopeful posture. This has led some to assume that Pepsi supports Trump as a company.

It's worth noting, however, that what Ramon remarked on is generally related to Republican policy, not necessarily Trump as a President.

In general, Investopedia writes that Republicans often favor de-regulation and push pro-growth policies.

Additionally, there is some history to Pepsi's apparent lack of support for Trump. According to AmericanDemocracyScoreCard, which tracks how entities interact with the political landscape as a whole, Pepsi has made moves that are generally not aligned with Trump's agenda, including offering a brief censure of the activities on Jan. 6, 2021, of Trump's supporters as they stormed the US Capitol, according to Reuters.

Additionally, they do not appear to have donated to Trump's re-election and inaugural funds and PACs, while their competitor Coca-Cola gave somewhere in the neighborhood of $400,000 to his inaugural fund, per Fox Business.

So does Pepsi support Trump? It does not appear that they openly support him. They do, however, seem to support policies that align with Republican agendas, which may or may not mean that their interests align with Trump. But this could be said of many major corporations.

The question of whether Pepsi supports Trump gets even murkier when you go back in time to pre-2018.

Before 2018, the CEO of PepsiCo was a woman named Indra Nooyi.

Indra was an open supporter of Trump rival Hillary Clinton, and jokingly asked for a box of tissues when asked about her political loss following the 2016 election.

In addition, Indra made comments in support of women and minorities that directly challenged Trump's own policies and words. The day after the election was called in favor of Trump in 2016, Indra had some thoughts on his attitudes towards women.

Forbes reports that she said, "Forget about the Pepsi brand. How dare we talk about women that way. If we don't nip this in the bud it is going to be a lethal force in society."

While this would seem to land her squarely in the "doesn't support Trump" camp, she later agreed to serve on Trump's Economic Advisory Team, per Business Insider.

While that doesn't necessarily mean that she supported him, they worked together during his administration and she received praise for providing several policy recommendations throughout his first term.

It does not appear that Pepsi is overly pro-Trump, especially when held up against competitors like Coca-Cola and their open financial contributions to his campaign. But like all corporations, they have to be willing to work with the big boss in charge.

On social media, however, users pointed out that it's important to keep in mind just how closely tied corporations are to political powers. In one TikTok video revealing corporations that have donated to Trump, a user wrote, "I appreciate this and will support only democratic companies."

In another video, one user summed it up by writing, "Who's left to support if everyone has a political agenda?"

And it's a valid question, one the internet debates on a daily basis.