The word “lobbying” has a negative connotation these days. That is unfortunate because it is a legitimate form of advocacy that is necessary in any democratic society. In the process of making policy on any matter of national importance, we expect our lawmakers and other public officials to listen to views from a variety of sources. And quite often, some of the most valuable opinions come from people who work directly in the industries for which rules are being crafted.

Every major corporation in the U.S. has a government affairs department. The job of the people who work in these divisions is to engage in frequent communications with policymakers to ensure that current and future legislation will not inadvertently harm their industries and, by extension, the national economy. Some companies hire professional lobbying firms to do some of this advocacy work on their behalf, but the goal remains the same. Influencing policymaking effectively, through legitimate means, has benefits for everyone. Bad policies in areas such as healthcare, energy, and banking can end up raising costs for consumers, or worse, severely damaging the economy.

There is always a fine line between lobbying that is legitimate, and actions that are meant to curry favor. Government affairs personnel know that offering lavish gifts to public officials in exchange for favorable legislation for their companies is illegal, and policymakers know not to accept them if presented. Despite those best efforts, some unscrupulous acts do occur. That imperfection is what fuels some of the public cynicism.

According to reporting by the Wall Street Journal, in the past several weeks, President-elect Trump and his advisers have received numerous calls from c-suite executives who are seeking face time with him. On the surface, it seems as if these corporate officers are making legitimate efforts to preemptively influence policies of the incoming administration. But their actions look and feel a bit different because they are seeking audience with the president-elect at his Mar-a-Lago home, and in some cases, donating as much as $1 million to his inaugural fund. Even then, such meetings and political donations have occurred after previous presidential elections so one could say that there isn’t much unusual about these latest ones.

What I found troubling was the WSJ reporters’ take on the motives for the visits and donations. They wrote: “When [Trump] arrived at the New York Stock Exchange this week for a postelection victory lap, dozens of influential executives lined up to catch a glimpse of the man who holds the future of their businesses in his hands.” The authors added that in seeking to meet with the president-elect and his advisers, the CEOs are “gambling that personal relationships with the next occupant of the Oval Office will help their bottom lines and spare them from Trump’s wrath.” Those two sentences, in particular, were quite baffling. It felt as if the journalists were talking about an autocrat or monarch, not a democratically elected president.

Indeed, American presidents wield significant policymaking powers. But whatever policies they and their administrations set are not supposed to intentionally favor some corporations or entities at the expense of others. In practice, some injuries do occur to companies in certain sectors because governing entails making choices among competing interests. But such tilting of the playing field cannot come about because of anyone’s personal relationships with the president, or what someone might have done to please him.

The primary responsibility of any American president is the faithful execution of the laws enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. In that sense, presidents are like sports referees. They are required to apply rules in a nondiscriminatory manner to ensure fair competition. All of those corporate executives who have visited the president-elect at his home operate in competitive industries. Their peers who have had no such access to him will be quite suspicious of what they might have discussed with the referee during their visits, and what he promised to do for their teams in upcoming games.