An ill-timed tweet from Uber that was posted on Saturday, Jan. 28 in the midst of the immigrant ban and associated protests led to a swift backlash on Twitter. Uber's tweet came as thousands of people were protesting Trump's immigration ban, leading taxi drivers to strike. Uber sent out a tweet stating that it was halting its surge pricing and was available to pick up passengers at JFK International Airport. Twitter users quickly responded, causing #DeleteUber to trend as activists called for people to stop using Uber in response to Uber's decision to continue operating.
A member of Trump's economic advisory team, Travis Kalanick, Uber's CEO, responded to the backlash. He stated that the tweet the company had sent was not intended to break up the taxi drivers' strike. He also stated that Uber opposes the immigration ban and was exploring ways to compensate drivers who are affected by it.
Lyft, Uber's primary rival, responded by stating it was donating $1 million to the ACLU over the next four years. While the backlash against Uber was swift, Lyft also continued its operations on Saturday at the airport, halted its surge pricing and charged fares. Activists still called for people to switch to Lyft instead of Uber with some Twitter users expressing anger that Kalanick serves on Trump's economic advisory team.
Kalanick said that the immigration ban will potentially affect thousands of Uber drivers who are from the seven banned countries. He stated that many of the drivers go back to their home countries to visit their families for extended periods before returning to the U.S. He indicated that the economic advisory team has a meeting scheduled for Friday, Feb. 3 with Trump, and he said that he plans to talk about the issue with the president at that time. Uber's customers did not seem to be satisfied with Kalanick's explanation or statements and flooded the company's website with complaints, including some that said that the people would choose Lyft and at least one that accused Kalanick of working with fascists.
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