- President Donald
Trump encouraged his supporters to boycottGoodyear Tire after a leaked employee training slide said to be from the company deemed apparel supporting Trump "unacceptable." - In response, some Trump supporters have praised Cooper Tire, another Ohio-based manufacturer.
- Neither company responded to a Business Insider inquiry.
President Donald Trump told his supporters to boycott Goodyear Tire on Wednesday.
His message, which he posted on his Twitter account, was in response to a leaked training slide said to be from Goodyear that told workers to not wear political apparel, including MAGA attire.
The slide, published by Topeka, Kansas news station 13-WIBW, said attire that expressed support for Black Lives Matter or LGBT rights are okay. In the "unacceptable" column included apparel declaring Blue Lives Matter or All Lives Matter or political slogans, particularly "MAGA Attire."
"Don't buy GOODYEAR TIRES - They announced a BAN ON MAGA HATS," he said on Twitter. "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!)."
In response, some Trump supporters have taken to Twitter to praise Cooper Tire. Both tire manufacturers are based in Ohio, though Cooper is relatively puny ($2.8 billion in sales last year) compared to Goodyear ($14.7 billion).
Won't buy there crap then I buy cooper tires for my trucks pic.twitter.com/JHYi7hjxg4
— Kevin marsh (@Kevinma63649671) August 19, 2020
Dats right...Cooper Tires in Ohio is a GREAT alternative to #BoycottGoodyear. Then there are a host of others made in the USA, but the Companies are are overseas, because WE LET THEM BUY our Companies!
— Im a Linda too (@ImaLindatoo) August 19, 2020
It amazes me to see liberals, who know absolutely nothing about the people of Ohio, proclaim that Trump just "lost" Ohio because they think the people have more loyalty to Goodyear than they do to their local law enforcement and their country #BoycottGoodyear
— #CallAli (@CallAli16) August 19, 2020
Buy Cooper Tires
#BoycottGoodyear and buy Cooper Tires which is an Ohio based company since 1914. #maga #FreeSpeech
— Parler: @Kckshrugged /Free Carpe (@kckshrugged) August 19, 2020
I bought new Wrangler Ultra Terrain tires for my Tacoma 60 days ago. I just called up the tire store and ordered Cooper AT3 and I will PAY to have them swapped out. How's that for commitment?#BoycottGoodyear #boycottgoodyeartires
— Robert - Resist Hate Vote Trump (@AzOtterman) August 19, 2020
Neither company responded to a Business Insider inquiry around the Goodyear boycott and shift to Cooper. However, Goodyear issued a statement on August 19 saying its corporate office did not create or distribute the slide. It was also not part of a diversity training class, Goodyear said.
"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."
Shares of Goodyear fell by 4% today, though half of that decline has since been recovered. Cooper's stock price enjoyed a bump of 1%.