“BASED.”
Not my words, or word. That’s from President Donald Trump’s official “War Room” account on X. But darned if we don’t agree.
In a NASCAR event at Japan’s iconic Fuji Speedway on Sunday — just two days before the company unveiled a nearly $1 billion investment in American manufacturing — Akio Toyoda, the chairman of automaker Toyota, appeared in a Make America Great Again cap and a Trump/Vance 2024 T-shirt.
From the New York Post:
The Sunday spectacle at Toyota’s Fuji Speedway featured top drivers, a crowd waving American flags and an appearance from US Ambassador to Japan George Glass, according to Automotive News.
The top Toyota exec nodded to recent US-Japan trade tensions during his bold display of pro-Trump sentiment.
“I’m not here to argue whether tariffs are good or bad. Every national leader wants to protect their own industry,” Toyoda said ahead of the endurance race.
Toyoda went on to say that the company was “exploring ways to make tariffs a winner for everyone. The people we want most to be winners are our customers.”
One way to do it: On Tuesday, the company unveiled a $912 million investment in U.S. manufacturing aimed at ramping up hybrid production.
According to CNBC, the investment will be centered in five Southern states and is part of up to $10 billion in manufacturing investment by 2030.
“Customers are embracing Toyota’s hybrid vehicles, and our U.S. manufacturing teams are gearing up to meet that growing demand,” said Kevin Voelkel, Toyota Motor North America senior vice president of manufacturing operation.
“Toyota’s philosophy is to build where we sell, and by adding more American jobs and investing across our U.S. footprint, we continue to stay true to that philosophy.”
OK, that’s important. Cooler is the based outfit Mr. Toyoda — a former CEO of Toyota and great-grandson of the company’s founder — sported at the Fuji race.
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda showed up to a NASCAR event on Sunday repping MAGA gear.
BASED 🔥🔥🔥🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/NnkbuJaNfk
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) November 18, 2025
Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda just showed up to a NASCAR event in Japan rocking full MAGA gear.
This is the way… pic.twitter.com/OTpNhOY8gc
— Ryan Fournier (@RyanAFournier) November 18, 2025
Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda showed up to a NASCAR event in Japan with a MAGA hat and Trump/Vance shirt
Toyota also announced a $912 million investment into manufacturing in the U.S.
LFG 🔥🔥🔥pic.twitter.com/BDaN3dlmpk
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 18, 2025
And Priuses just became as radioactive to purple-haired cat ladies as Teslas. To be fair, it’s not a big loss.
Do you think Trump is more widely respected around the world (even by our enemies) than Biden was?
Also, who knew that Asians were apparently so racist? Remember how, when we started calling it the “Wuhan Flu” and the “China Virus,” we were suddenly anti-Asian and the Yellow Panic was brought back up and running? Gosh, I guess Akio’s a race traitor, huh? Or maybe he knows that was all bunkum, just like any sane person does. Same thing with tariffs being problematic, too. (For those of you curious about the matter, you should look up Japan’s policy toward automotive imports.)
But, perhaps most critical, it’s a sign that Japan is warming up to the Trump administration in a big way, especially when the chairman of one of its biggest companies is going full-on MAGA. Most importantly, it shows that he realizes — like Trump does — that you want to make people work with you, not compel them to work with you. Respect is a huge part of that, and he’s not someone who was wearing a Biden/Harris 2024 shirt at this time in 2023, either.
In short: Based, indeed.
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