Microsoft refuses to boycott GOP convention
This post has been updated
The tech world, it seems, is not buckling to pressure to boycott the Republican National Convention entirely over Donald Trump’s tough words about women, minorities and immigrants.
Microsoft announced Friday it would continue to support the conventions of both political parties this summer, although it won't give money for the Republican event.
“We’re not changing our planned activities for the conventions in 2016,” Fred Humphries, the software giant’s vice president of government affairs in Washington, said in a blog post.
“We appreciate that this year’s conventions may have some more dramatic moments than in some prior years,” he added. “This is all the more reason, in our view, to ensure that they benefit from technology tools that are used for a range of important activities, from helping record accurate vote counts to sharing information quickly and accurately with the delegates and the public.”
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Microsoft’s announcement comes a day after Google told Politico it would serve as the official live-stream provider at the GOP convention in Cleveland.
A civil-rights advocacy group, Color of Change, and other activists recently launched a public campaign, urging Microsoft and Google to drop the convention from any sponsorship plans. The tech companies contributed nearly $1.5 million and $350,000, respectively, to the 2012 Republican convention in Tampa, Federal Election Commission records show.
About half of Microsoft’s donations that year came in the form of in-kind services.
In the blog post, Humphries said Microsoft long had planned to provide products and services to the Republican gathering, instead of a cash donation. The company's support of the Democratic National Convention will be a mix of in-kind technology and "some sponsorship," he wrote.
Rashad Robinson, executive director of Color of Change, told USA TODAY that Microsoft's move to refrain from a cash contribution to the GOP convention and its decision to explain its views in a blog post demonstrate the activism has paid off. "It's not everything we demanded," he said, "but it's a good step forward."
He called Google's decision to live-stream the event a "big disappointment."
GOP fight could rain on Ohio convention parade
Trump has dominated the Republican presidential race, despite his controversial statements about women’s appearances and his incendiary comments about Mexican immigrants and Muslims. His sweep of five primary contests Tuesday puts him closer to the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the nomination on the first ballot in Cleveland.
Trump’s rivals and some Republican establishment figures, however, still are hoping to force the nominating contest to several ballots on the convention floor and block the real-estate mogul from becoming the GOP’s nominee.