U.S. President Donald Trump is calling on supporters to boycott Goodyear tires and says he will remove them from his presidential limousine after a worker shared on social media a viral photo of a Goodyear policy that restricts MAGA hats and other attire at its workplaces.
MAGA or "Make America Great Again" is a catch line used in U.S. elections that was made popular by Trump in his 2016 presidential campaign.
In his tweet Trump said "Don't buy Goodyear Tires - They announced a ban on MAGA hats. Get better tires for far less!"
A boycott of the company before Trump's tweet Wednesday surfaced online after a slide presentation believed to come from a diversity training began spreading on the internet.
A TV station in Topeka, Kansas, showed Tuesday a slide that appeared to show the tire maker's assembly facility in Topeka. The slide originated from Goodyear's Akron corporate offices, the broadcast station said.
The Goodyear slide titled "Zero Tolerance" agree to pro-Black, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender messaging. Yet it categorized pro-Trump and pro-police parlance as "unacceptable," along with other politically associated catchphrases.
Shares of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. were down as much as 6 percent moments after Trump's social media attack. The company's stock eased losses before the end of the session and settled 2 percent lower at $9.50 Wednesday.
Goodyear responded to Trump's tweet saying the slide in question was not distributed by the company's corporate branch and asked its colleagues to avoid expressing views that "support political campaigning for any candidate or political party."
Goodyear insisted the social media fallout was part of a misinterpretation of the company's policies, and that it supports "equality and law enforcement."
Goodyear is the biggest tire maker in North America. Nearly a quarter of new vehicles in the U.S. used the Akron, Ohio's premium tires in 2018, industry publication Tyre Business, said.
