Donald Trump is urging the public to boycott a 121-year-old American company.
On Wednesday, the president took to Twitter to slam the rubber and tire manufacturer Goodyear, which was accused of implementing an anti-Trump, discriminatory policy.
"Don’t buy GOODYEAR TIRES - They announced a BAN ON MAGA HATS," POTUS tweeted. "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 post was an apparent response to a photo taken during a diversity training session at a Topeka, Kansas, Goodyear. An employee took a picture of a PowerPoint slide labeled "Zero Tolerance." Underneath were two separate categories: "Acceptable," which listed the Black Lives Matter and LGBT slogans; and "Unacceptable," which listed "Blue Lives Matter," "All Lives Matter," "Political Affiliated Slogans or Material," and "MAGA Attire." The latter, of course, refers to Trump's 2016 campaign slogan "Make America Great Again."
A day after the photo began circulating on social media, Goodyear addressed the matter on its official Twitter account. The company's statement said the image "created some misconceptions" about its policies, and the slide in question "was not created or distributed by Goodyear corporate, nor was it part of a diversity training class."
"To be clear on our longstanding corporate policy, Goodyear has zero tolerance for any forms of harassment or discrimination," the statement read. "To enable a work environment free of those, we ask that associates refrain from workplace expressions in support of political campaigning for any candidate or political party, as well as similar forms of advocacy that fall outside the scope of racial justice and equity issues ... We have heard from some of you that believe Goodyear is anti-police after reacting to the visual. Nothing could be further from the truth, and we have the upmost [sic] appreciation for the vital work police do on behalf of our shared communities."
On Wednesday, a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany if Trump's limo, referred to as "The Beast," would continue to use Goodyear tires. McEnany said she could not say, as it was a security matter; however, she reiterated that the company ban on MAGA gear was unfair.
"They [Goodyear] came out and said 'equity issues.' As far as I'm concerned, Blue Lives Matter is an equity issue ... Blue Lives Matter is an equity issue and Goodyear needs to come out and acknowledge that ... MAGA is pretty much unanimous with Blue Lives Matter these days, if you've seen the endorsements ... The president will never apologize for standing with law enforcement, he won't."
She continued: "If you can wear a Black Lives Matter hat, guess what, you should be able to wear a Blue Lives Matter one too, particularly when our police officers are targeted…amid riots. He will always stand against our police officers, Blue Lives matter, for some reason not being an equity issue, as Goodyear appears to maintain."
