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While it might be tempting to wade into the swirling morass of political and social commentary, corporations and their general counsel would be wise to stay tight-lipped and on the sidelines—especially when it comes to President Donald Trump.

That's according to some thought-provoking results from a new survey by research tech company Morning Consult, which found that saying anything about Trump, whether it be criticism or praise, “is far more likely to generate backlash than win your brand any favor.”

The corporate social responsibility study, titled “CSR and Political Activism in the Trump Era,” showed that 60 percent of the survey takers believed corporations already have too much political and cultural influence and ought to stay out of the mix and focus instead on what they first set out to do—operate a business. Only 22 percent were certain they wanted corporations using their influence in such matters.

Meanwhile, nearly 50 percent of respondents said they were more likely to get the warm fuzzies from companies that paid their employees good wages and 43 percent said providing comfortable work environments would boost a business' reputation.

“The key takeaway is don't talk about Trump and stay away from the most polarizing issues,” said Anthony Patterson, communications director for Morning Consult. “Companies should just concentrate on their internal selves to enhance or boost their brand reputation.”

The findings, which are based on answers from a national sample of 2,200 adults polled in mid-July, come at a time when corporations and their top lawyers are increasingly stepping into the political and cultural fray over issues from net neutrality to immigration.

Take, for instance, drugmaker Sanofi's Twitter comeback earlier this year to Roseanne Barr's tweet blaming the company's insomnia drug Ambien for causing her to fire off a previous racially offensive tweet in the middle of the night.

In response to Barr's claim that she'd been “ambien tweeting,” Sanofi wrote, in part: “While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication.” Sanofi's top attorney, Chan Lee, later told the National Law Journal that the “approval of that tweet was a fairly easy one for me.”

“Clearly one of our core values is diversity and inclusion,” Lee added. “And unwarranted attribution of one of our products for what we view to be racist comments was inappropriate. We felt we needed to take a stand and speak out against it.”

While Sanofi's response was apparently effective—Barr later backtracked and blamed herself, rather than Ambien—getting involved in cultural and political matters is tricky business. But the CSR study provides some statistics for GCs to consider when weighing the pros and cons of making statements around certain hot button issues.

Most respondents said they'd be more likely to support companies that advocated for civil rights and the rights of racial minorities, reforming the criminal justice system and gun control. But speaking out about political campaigns, immigration, abortion and kneeling during the national anthem wasn't likely to win a company many points, according to the survey.

And, as mentioned earlier, talking Trump appears to be a losing proposition. Only 30 percent of the survey takers said they'd appreciate a company issuing a positive statement about the president. A similarly low 32 percent said they'd applaud a company for criticizing Trump.

“No matter what you say about Trump, roughly 70 percent of the country will be upset or won't care,” the report stated.

Here are some other noteworthy findings:

• Another poll within the same report asked 6,600 Americans to name the first ethically responsible company that came to mind. Walmart got the most mentions, followed by Amazon, Target, Chick-fil-A and Starbucks.
• Unsurprisingly, Trump Hotels topped the list of the “Most Polarizing Brands in America,” followed by media outlets CNN, Fox News, NBC and The New York Times.
• Climate change is a “winning issue across the political spectrum,” with 43 percent of Republican respondents and 59 percent of Democrats indicating they believe corporations should act on the issue.
• Sixty-nine percent of conservatives and baby boomers (ages 54 to 72), said corporations shouldn't get involved in political or cultural matters. But 36 percent of Gen Z respondents (ages 18 to 21), said corporations should get involved—the highest percentage of any group surveyed.
• Who's watching and who cares? Apparently, not many people: A mere 13 percent of the respondents said they pay significant attention to the ethical and political concerns of a brand. And 47 percent were willing to overlook a corporation's unethical behavior.