July 4th Fireworks Donor Lobbied Trump to Drop Tariffs Before $750K Donation

An Ohio company that lobbied President Trump against proposed tariffs on Chinese imports donated $750,000 worth of fireworks for Trump’s July 4th celebration around the same time the president decided to hold off on imposing the tariffs, ABC News reports. Phantom Fireworks announced the donation last week, reportedly on the same day Trump decided against expanding tariffs on Chinese goods. Phantom Fireworks company executives said the donation wasn’t politically motivated and had been planned for months, but Jordan Libowitz, of nonpartisan watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, says the donation raises ethical concerns. “This is another example of how private companies attempt use their money to influence the government by stroking the president’s ego,” he told ABC News. Trump also tweeted about the fireworks and thanked the company by name, though federal ethics guidelines state that employees of the executive branch are forbidden from using their positions to promote businesses.