Remember when Elon Musk was the only automotive CEO pandering to President Donald Trump? Well, those days are over. Toyota’s CEO, Akio Toyoda, hosted an aggressively MAGA NASCAR-inspired event at the Fuji Speedway in Japan. In part, it was done to win over motorsports fans and diplomats, but it also seems to have been done to curry favor with the U.S. as tariffs are negotiated. After all, the way to Trump’s heart is by putting his face on a t-shirt.
Toyoda billed the event, which was held in conjunction with an endurance race held at the Toyota-owned track, as an international celebration of car culture and proof of Japan’s love for American cars, according to Automotive News, which apparently had a reporter in attendance at the event. I wonder if this little stunt from Toyoda will draw the ire of folks who love to demand we keep cars and politics separate. I don’t think it will.
Start your engines! A day of spectacular @NASCAR racing at Fuji Speedway with @ToyotaMotorCorp Chairman Akio Toyoda. Looking forward to celebrating the culture of 🇺🇸 motorsports again next year, as part of our @America250 festivities in 🇯🇵. pic.twitter.com/4OnvMaxxDh
— ジョージ・グラス駐日米国大使 (@USAmbJapan) November 16, 2025
The 69-year-old could be seen wearing a classic “Make America Great Again” hat and a red 2024 campaign t-shirt with Trump’s and JD Vance’s faces on it that looks like it came straight out of the Jersey Shore boardwalk. He’s now the second automotive CEO, behind Tesla’s Elon Musk, to don a MAGA hat.
Tariffs and flattery
Of course, this is all meant to curry favor between Toyota, Japan and the U.S. as tariff deals are worked through. Originally, Trump slapped a 27.5% duty on Japanese imports to the U.S., but that has since come down to 15%. Though I’m sure Toyoda and Toyota would like to see that number far lower. Pherpas Trump, seeing an airbrushed photo of himself below the CEO’s nipples, will help with that. If that doesn’t do it, then the $10 billion Toyota has pledged to invest in the U.S. certainly will.
During the four-hour race, Toyoda and his crew went all out to show how much they loved America and our excesses. There were food stalls that featured a “U.S. meat menu” with things like the “California grill BBQ burger,” which is a one-pound steak and chili-cheese long fries, according to Auto News‘ intrepid reporting.
Toyoda was joined by U.S. Ambassador George Glass, who helped showcase a demonstration run of six NASCAR vehicles that were specifically brought over from the States for the occasion, Automotive News reports. Piloting them were some of the most famous NASCAR drivers in the world, like Jimmie Johnson, John Huner Memechek and Kamui Kobayashi.
Toyoda and Glass even drove around the event in a Ford F-150 rather than one of the many Toyota products at the event. My man was really laying it on thick with this one.
I honestly sort of doubt this will have any real impact on Trump’s tariff proposals between the U.S. and Japan. If I’m being real, he’s probably a bit distracted with the whole Bubba thing right now. Japanese tariffs are the last thing on this dude’s mind.
