Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s stock prices plummeted more than 4 percent Wednesday after President Donald Trump called for a boycott of the company for a reported “zero tolerance” policy on “Make America Great Again” hats and “Blue Lives Matter” messages.
Don’t buy GOODYEAR TIRES – They announced a BAN ON MAGA HATS. 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!).
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2020
A photo posted to Twitter showed a slide allegedly part of Goodyear’s diversity training that listed appropriate slogans and organizations that may be showcased on employee attire. In the “acceptable” column is “Black Lives Matter” and “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride” while statements such as “Blue Lives Matter,” “All Lives Matter,” “MAGA Attire,” and “Political Affiliated Slogans or Material,” are deemed “unacceptable.”
Goodyear bans blue lives matter and all lives matter messages while allowing BLM and LGBT. We need to get #BoycottGoodyear trending. They need to overturn this discriminatory police, apologize for it, and apologize for their support of a violent Marxist organization. pic.twitter.com/MYfnbvsEPo
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) August 19, 2020
While the company’s stock market performance suffered immediately after President Trump’s call to action, Goodyear has significantly underperformed in the last two years with stock prices falling over 60 percent despite a 43 percent increase in the NASDAQ overall.
https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/1296126171273400321?s=20
According to the company, the declines showcased in the most recent quarterly report were “driven by lower industry volume and reduced sales from other tire-related businesses,” but some point out that the company’s financial downfall began long before COVID-19, causing some speculation about the company’s leadership and executives.
While Goodyear CEO Richard Kramer has donated to Republican candidates and lawmakers in the past, his most recent campaign donations were to two Ohio Democrats: Rep. Tim Ryan and Sen. Sherrod Brown. Kramer gave $1,000 to Ryan in 2018 and $2,500 to Brown in 2017. Federal campaign donation records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics show that Kramer hasn’t donated to a Republican candidate for federal office in over a decade.
The company issued a statement in response to the leaked photo claiming that the image in circulation “was not created or distributed by Goodyear corporate” and that Goodyear “has always wholeheartedly supported both equality and law enforcement and will continue to do so.”
Goodyear also said that they “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,” which raises questions on how Goodyear determines which political statements are allowed and which are not.
Yesterday, Goodyear became the focus of a conversation that created some misconceptions about our policies and our company. Goodyear has always wholeheartedly supported both equality and law enforcement and will continue to do so. pic.twitter.com/oO6jUg2rTR
— Goodyear (@goodyear) August 19, 2020
