US President Donald Trump has called for consumers to avoid buying Goodyear tyres after a report that the company had specifically banned attire featuring his political slogan. “Don't buy GOODYEAR TIRES - They announced a BAN ON MAGA HATS,” Trump tweeted.
His call to ban products from the company - with headquarters in Ohio, a presidential battleground state - follows a report on the website of an NBC affiliate in Wisconsin about a purported Goodyear diversity training presentation in Ohio on appropriate attire.
A photo by a Goodyear employee that circulated on social media included “MAGA Attire” and other political attire, as well as Blue Lives Matter, on an “unacceptable” list.
In a statement following Trump's tweet, Goodyear said that “the visual in question was not created or distributed by Goodyear corporate, nor was it part of a diversity training class.”
The company said it is committed to an “inclusive, respectful workplace” and, therefore, asks associates “not to engage in political campaigning of any kind in the workplace - for any candidate, party or political organization.”
The statement did not mention Trump.
Several photos surfaced on social media after Trump's tweet showing Goodyear tyres on the presidential limousine in which he travels, which is nicknamed “the beast.”
Donald Trump said later in the day that he'll change the Goodyear tyres on the presidential limousine. "I would swap them out based on what I heard,” Trump said of the tyres on the bullet-proof limousine, known as The Beast. "We'll see what happens."
