Open letter from more than 60 CEOs of Minnesota-based companies

https://www.mnchamber.com/blog/open-letter-more-60-ceos-minnesota-based-companies

Comments

mediamanJan 26, 2026, 1:25 AM
Some are complaining this letter is weak and generic.

Of course it is. You have 3M, Target, General Mills, Cargill, and US Bancorp on here, among others.

If you are looking for some revolutionary call to action, you're looking in the wrong place. And you're misunderstanding what's happening.

It is a really big deal for these very conservative, large, rich companies to be telling the federal government to cut it out, even if it is written in generic legalese.

The letter is not for you. It is for the administration. And it is extremely clear.

ameliaquiningJan 26, 2026, 1:27 AM
I do think they would likely have used more forceful rhetoric if they were dealing with a more normal administration. The current one is atypically spite-driven and prone to retaliate against critics, so they probably figured that saying anything insufficiently conciliatory-sounding would likely be counterproductive.
foogaziJan 26, 2026, 1:35 AM
> The current one is atypically spite-driven and prone to retaliate against critics

That’s why they do that

shalmaneseJan 26, 2026, 3:33 AM
Even if that is the instinct, this is a mistaken way to deal with narcissistic bullying.

It’s writing the piece in the first place rather than what you put in it that raises the ire. There’s no way to compromise or mollify the wording in a way that makes them give you like, half the punishment.

What’s more, the attempt to mollify signals weakness that just invites them to feel even more vindictive. Being more forthright and decisive is what earns their grudging respect. China understood this, Zohran Mandani understood this. Meanwhile, Europe and Democratic leadership, universities and large law firms refuse to understand this.

ronbentonJan 26, 2026, 12:55 AM
Hm that is a weird way to ask for the feds to stop shooting innocent people
dougb5Jan 26, 2026, 1:25 AM
You can tell the message was written by committee, or by a large language model prompted to respect "both sides". No human with a soul could honestly characterize the situation as passively as this: "The recent challenges facing our state have created widespread disruption and tragic loss of life."
baubinoJan 26, 2026, 2:04 AM
It was almost certainly written by lawyers. The letter basically says, “The current situation is disrupting our bottom line. This cannot continue.”
actionfromafarJan 26, 2026, 1:09 AM
Reads like a prayer to summon a nostalgic past.
yodonJan 26, 2026, 1:19 AM
It's hard to imagine a joint letter that says less than this one does.
whatever1Jan 26, 2026, 1:20 AM
Why do we expect the companies to do the job of our elected officials ?

Congress does not seem to object to the current practices of federal law enforcement, why corporate CEOs should?

bulbarJan 26, 2026, 6:23 AM
Not "why should", but "why do they object" is the right question. When big corporations jump in telling you "how you manage the police is bad for us" that's a big sign something's very wrong.
cpgxiiiJan 26, 2026, 1:22 AM
Because the only signal the Trump administration responds to is "market goes down".
dashundchenJan 26, 2026, 1:30 AM
Only when they are not manipulating it to drop themselves for some nice insider trading
Driver4732Jan 26, 2026, 1:45 AM
You can't have change unless you call out directly who is doing the wrongdoing. In this case, it's the executive branch of the federal government led by Trump. The letter is weak and toothless. Trump and DHS have shown no signs of stopping the ICE invasion, yet these companies call for all parties to come together "to find real solutions." These companies want to look good for the local community but are scared of getting targeted by Trump.
SilverElfinJan 26, 2026, 12:50 AM
List of companies signing onto this includes 3M, General Mills, Best Buy, Mayo Clinic, Target, and many other well known companies.
TheAlchemistJan 26, 2026, 1:18 AM
You could hardly write something more generic - they could maybe add some calls for world peace and universal prosperity...

How is this kind of bullshit upvoted here ?

yodonJan 26, 2026, 1:21 AM
It's still worth knowing that this letter was written, even if the letter is only significant because of how embarrassingly little it says.
decrementalJan 26, 2026, 1:19 AM
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s5300Jan 26, 2026, 1:17 AM
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mickle00Jan 26, 2026, 1:19 AM
I appreciate the idea behind this letter, but it just feels so....weak?

"C'mon guys, we're all on the same team here, let's talk it out" /s

sbarreJan 26, 2026, 1:20 AM
Yeah it has pretty gross "both sides" vibes.. Like they're feeling inconvenienced or something..
actionfromafarJan 26, 2026, 1:23 AM
"Attention. You are doing fascism too hard right now."