Trump urges Goodyear boycott, accuses company of banning MAGA hats
Goodyear pushed back against Trump Wednesday via tweet.
President Donald Trump Wednesday morning advocated boycotting Goodyear following reports that the company banned his campaign MAGA hats.
"Don’t buy GOODYEAR TIRES - They announced a BAN ON MAGA HATS," Trump said. "Get better tires for far less! (This is what the Radical Left Democrats do. Two can play the same game, and we have to start playing it now!)."
The tweet comes after reports that a Topeka, Kansas, Goodyear plant showed a slide during a training that "Black Lives Matter" and LBGT pride apparel were "acceptable" as part of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company’s zero-tolerance policy and "Blue Lives Matter," "All Lives Matter," "MAGA Attire," and other political material were "unacceptable."
Goodyear responded to Trump on Twitter with a statement saying that "the visual in question was not created or distributed by Goodyear corporate, nor was it a part of a diversity training class."
"Yesterday, Goodyear became the focus of a conversation that created some misconceptions about our policies and our company," Goodyear tweeted. "Goodyear has always wholeheartedly supported both equality and law enforcement and will continue to do so."
Ironically, the president's extended and armored limousine, nicknamed "The Beast" has custom Goodyear Tires. In a 2009 statement, Goodyear said that it is "the exclusive tire for the presidential limo and the standard tire of the US Secret Service."
Later Wednesday, at a White House news conference, Trump said he's “not happy” with the company he accused of “playing politics” and that he would be in favor of swapping out the tires on his presidential limousine.
“Yes,” Trump said. “We'll see what happens. You're going to have lot of people not wanting to buy that product anymore. They'll buy it from a competitor. Made in the U.S.A., too.”
“And the funny thing is the people that work for Goodyear, I can guarantee you, I poll very well with all of those great workers at Goodyear. And when they say that you can’t have Blue Lives Matter, you can't show a Blue Line, you can’t wear a MAGA hat, but you can have other things that are Marxist in nature -- there’s something wrong with the top of Goodyear.”
Earlier, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany compared the “Black Lives Matter” movement to “Blue Lives Matter” claiming that the latter is an “equity issue” and that police have been “targeted because they wear the badge.”
“If you can wear a Black Lives Matter hat you should be able to wear a Blue Lives Matter one too particularly when our police officers are targeted like they were in Dallas particularly,” McEnany said.
Also, Trump just last month rallied against 'cancel' culture after backlash followed his posting of Goya foods on his official social media accounts.
"One of their political weapons is cancel culture," Trump said on July 3. "Driving people from their jobs, shaming dissenters & demanding total submission from anyone who disagrees. This is the very definition of totalitarianism."
Goodyear is an American company based in Akron, Ohio, and most of its major competitors are based in Europe or Asia. The company currently employs 62,000 people according to their most recent quarterly report and supports many blue collar jobs and "forgotten men and women" in America Trump claims to represent.
This tweet also comes as Trump's support in Ohio has somewhat soured making it a toss-up state in the 2020 election.
This report was featured in the Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, episode of “Start Here,” ABC News’ daily news podcast.
"Start Here" offers a straightforward look at the day's top stories in 20 minutes. Listen for free every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, the ABC News app or wherever you get your podcasts.
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