I never knew what a New Balance was until I moved to the Washington, D.C., area. But now, after the company issued a statement in support of Donald Trump, I never will.
On the heels of Trump winning the election, Matt LeBretton, the Boston-based sportswear company’s vice president of public affairs, issued a statement to the Wall Street Journal saying that Trump’s being elected was a “move in the right direction.”
But sneaker heads who opposed Trump are now getting rid of their New Balances. Some are burning them, others are trashing them.
@SoleCollector @newbalance good to know. I made a little bonfire tonight 🙂 pic.twitter.com/yOdCTbQgac
— skreetware (@milftears) November 10, 2016
.@NewBalance is the first major sportswear company to publicly back president-elect Donald Trump: https://t.co/P60RgXhool pic.twitter.com/dVYpc8Fr87
— SoleCollector.com (@SoleCollector) November 10, 2016
.@SoleCollector @newbalance pic.twitter.com/9AFPnw6doF
— M.A. Fortin (@SeniorTeenager) November 10, 2016
@SoleCollector ??@newbalance pic.twitter.com/65wQ69grvq
— MA$E (@_deehKING) November 10, 2016
LeBretton’s praise of President-elect Orangina is due to his opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which the company has opposed, as well.
After the burning and trashing of the company’s sneakers went viral, New Balance issued another statement about its stance.
“As the only major company that still makes athletic shoes in the United States, New Balance has a unique perspective on trade and trade policy in that we want to make more shoes in the United States, not less,” it said. “New Balance publicly supported the trade positions of Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump prior to Election Day that focused on American manufacturing-job creation and we continue to support them today.”
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