WH: Trump Calls For Goodyear Boycott Because ‘MAGA Is Unanimous With Blue Lives Matter’

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 19: White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany holds a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House August 19, 2020 in Washington, DC. McEnany fielded questions from r... WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 19: White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany holds a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House August 19, 2020 in Washington, DC. McEnany fielded questions from reporters about President Donald Trump's call for a boycott of Goodyear brand tires because of the company's policy of not allowing political speech at the workplace. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Wednesday defended President Trump’s call for a boycott against Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. by attempting to bolster Trump’s unwavering support for law enforcement officers.

In a Wednesday morning tweet, the President urged the public to boycott Goodyear tires over a “BAN ON MAGA HATS.” However, the Ohio-based company has not officially implemented a ban targeting MAGA hats, and stated that it’s asked its employees to “refrain from workplace expressions involving political campaigning or forms of advocacy that fall outside the scope of racial justice and equity issues issues.”

Trump’s call for a Goodyear boycott comes after Topeka, Kansas TV station WIBW reported on an anonymous Goodyear employee’s screenshot that the employee claimed was part of the company’s diversity training. The screenshot showed Black Lives Matter and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride messages as “acceptable” under company policy. In contrast, slogans and items such “MAGA Attire” and “Blue Lives Matter” fell under the “unacceptable” category.

Goodyear, whose stocks immediately plunged after Trump’s tweet, acknowledged in a tweet that the company became the focus of a conversation that “created some misconceptions about our policies and our company.” In its statement, Goodyear denied that the screenshot was created or distributed by the company’s corporate offices nor was part of a diversity training class. Goodyear also denied that it’s “anti-police” and that it has the “utmost appreciation” for police forces.

When pressed on Trump’s Goodyear boycott demand during a White House briefing on Wednesday, McEnany wouldn’t comment on whether the President would continue to use tires made by the company, but urged it to “come out and clarify their policy” after a reporter pointed out that a ban on political speech is standard for most companies.

McEnany argued that the screenshot by the anonymous Goodyear employee, which showed MAGA hats being deemed unacceptable by the company, shows that “what was clearly targeted was a certain ideology.”

Asked whether the President himself reached out to Goodyear prior to his tweet, McEnany bypassed the question and bolstered Trump’s previous assertion that he’s the President of “law and order” instead.

“They came out and said equity issues. As far as I’m concerned, Blue Lives Matter is an equity issue,” McEnany said. “There have been police officers across this country that have been targeted because they wear the badge.”

After ranting about the Black Lives Matter movement for its call to defund the police, McEnany doubled down on how Blue Lives Matter is an “equity issue” that Goodyear “needs to come out and acknowledge.”

McEnany added that the President called for the Goodyear boycott over MAGA, which she characterized as being “pretty much unanimous with Blue Lives Matter these days.”

Later in the briefing, McEnany was pressed on whether his Goodyear boycott is the official policy of the federal government.

“The President was talking to his supporters when he tweeted that in particular,” McEnany said. “This President will never apologize for standing with law enforcement. He won’t. He think it’s unacceptable.”

Watch McEnany’s remarks below:

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