Donald Trump is using the power of the presidency to harm an American company because he doesn't like its policy against allowing workers to promote his candidacy for reelection on the job.
It all comes down to that red MAGA hat.
The company is Goodyear, an iconic tire manufacturer based in Ohio.
And, oh, former Gov. John Kasich, one of Trump's 2016 primary election opponents, is an outspoken supporter of Trump's Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden.
Roger Friedman, of SHOWBIZ411.com, wrote about this today and said the action was taken by Trump because Kasich, a lifelong Republican, endorsed Trump and spoke at the Democratic Convention.
Here's Trump's Tweet about all of this:
So, here we have the President of the United States telling his supporters not to purchase the product of an American company with a longstanding reputation for excellence because its employees are not allowed to wear that obnoxious red MAGA hat on the job.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump was concerned that the company allowed attire supporting the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement and other issues related to equality, but not the ‘Blue Lives Matter’ group backing police officers, or MAGA.
But that wasn't enough. Then, Trump told a White House press conference that he's considering replacing the company's tires on the presidential limousine with another brand.
“I’m not happy with Goodyear because what they’re doing is playing politics," Trump declared. "And the funny thing is that the people who work for Goodyear, I can guarantee you I poll very well with all those great workers in Goodyear.”
“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,” Trump added.
Goodyear sent a message in response to its customers, partners and associates. It's reprinted here:
In his article, Friedman wrote:
"I personally love Goodyear Tires. I have always had them on my cars for the last 20 years. They will always keep you safe, and have terrific performance. The 66,000 people who work there don’t deserve their president trying to ruin their business, take their jobs, and destroy their lives.
"Support Goodyear. Elect Biden."
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), took Trump to task for his action, which apparently sent Goodyear's stock tumbling as much as 6 percent, before rebounding to being down 2 percent when the closing bell rang.
“It’s absolutely despicable that the President would call for a boycott of an American company, based in Akron, that employs thousands of U.S. workers,” Brown wrote in a tweet.
This is not how a president is supposed to act. This is simply another example of Trump's pettiness and childish behavior, and another abuse of the presidential power that Donald Trump has no business having at his disposal.
November 3.