Kawasaki has become the centre of a media storm around Donald Trump, who gets sworn in as US president today. Two days ago a Kawasaki USA employee said the firm was dropping its advertising support of Donald Trump’s new reality show, The New Celebrity Apprentice. In an episode of the show, contestants are involved in a task featuring marketing for a Kawasaki motorcycle.

“Once we understood the concerns of American citizens, we have taken the approach of agreeing not to participate in the show in the future as long as Mister Trump is involved as an executive producer. The concerns from our own customers, as well as the #grabyourwallet campaign did seize the attention of our executives,” said the Kawasaki employee. The campaign urges people to distance itself from anything Trump is involved with as a protest measure.

Yesterday, Kawasaki officially announced it was distancing itself from the previous announcement, and announced the departure of the company’s representative who made the statements. “Throughout its 50-year history in the United States, Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A., its subsidiaries and affiliates, have remained neutral in regards to American politics. Recently published comments relating to The New Celebrity Apprentice and President-Elect Donald Trump’s involvement in the show attributed to a Kawasaki employee are a misrepresentation of the company’s position and the employee is no longer with the company.”