President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged people not to buy Goodyear tires after one of the company’s employees posted a photo on social media showing a ban on attire with the president’s “Make America Great Again” slogan included.
"Don't buy GOODYEAR TIRES," Trump wrote Wednesday in a tweet. "They announced a BAN ON MAGA HATS. 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 image circulating on social media was taken by an employee at The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company’s plant in Topeka, Kansas, according to WIBW. It showed apparel including the phrase “MAGA,” “Blue Lives Matter” and “All Lives Matter” had been deemed unacceptable under the company’s zero-tolerance policy on discrimination.
Clothing that includes the phrase “Black Lives Matter” or related to LGBTQ pride are deemed acceptable under the policy, according to the image.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany accused Goodyear of targeting conservatives at a news briefing Wednesday, Politico reported.
"They came out and said, 'equity issues,'" she said. "I will stand at this podium and say Blue Lives Matter is an equity issue, and Goodyear needs to come out and acknowledge that."
Goodyear officials said Wednesday in a statement that the company "has always wholeheartedly supported both equality and law enforcement and will continue to do so."
“We have heard from some of you that believe Goodyear is anti-police after reacting to the visual,” company officials said. “Nothing could be further from the truth, and we have the upmost appreciation for the vital work police do on behalf of our shared communities.”
Officials said the image "was not created or distributed by Goodyear corporate."
"Goodyear has zero tolerance for any forms of harassment or discrimination," company officials said. "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."
The president’s push for a boycott drew criticism from Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who accused Trump of “(betraying) the workers in Akron.”
"It's absolutely despicable that the President would call for a boycott of an American company, based in Akron, that employees thousands of U.S. workers," he wrote in a social media post. "Keep in mind, this is a President who spent years making his own Trump-branded products overseas. "
Last year, Trump criticized “the Radical Left” for “using Commerce to hurt their ‘Enemy’” after people called for a boycott of Home Depot amid reports that the company’s co-founder planned to back Trump in the 2020 presidential election, NPR reported.
“They put out the name of a store, brand or company, and ask their so-called followers not to do business there,” the president wrote in a tweet posted July 9, 2019. “They don’t care who gets hurt, but also don’t understand that two can play that game!”
A month earlier, the president had called for a boycott of AT&T over CNN’s coverage of his presidency.