Why Is New Balance Supporting Donald Trump?

With the recent election’s surprising outcome, the fashion world has taken a strong stance on who they support. Unsurprisingly, most of the industry fell in favor of Hillary Clinton, with everyone from Marc Jacobs to Anna Wintour endorsing the qualified candidate in real life and on social media. Even with the surprising results of the election—Trump scored the presidential victory because of the electoral college, but Clinton won the popular vote—the fashion industry has continued to speak out their political opinions with hashtags like #ImStillWithHer and black images on Instagram.

So, with all the backlash against our new president-elect, it comes as a bit of a shock that a well-known, established sportswear brand would openly endorse Trump. After all, people are still holding protests in major cities across the U.S. to express their disdain. But that’s exactly what New Balance just did. Matt LeBretton, the company’s vice president of public affairs, told the Wall Street Journal that the company felt that the Obama administration turned a “deaf ear” to them, and they feel as if things will “move in the right direction” with Trump.

https://twitter.com/germanotes/status/796479327911247876

New Balance is the first fashion sportswear brand to speak out and openly support Trump, and people definitely aren’t happy about it. Multiple people have since posted videos of themselves burning their New Balance sneakers as a form of protest opposing the company’s political stance.

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The company, known for its comfortable and affordable sneakers, has previously spoken out about the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership and its negative effects on the business. Trump spoke out heavily against the partnership on the campaign trail, likely causing the brand to side with the president-elect. According to the election results, 57 percent of the votes in Skowhegan, Maine, where the company’s factory is located, went to Trump. It’s possible that the brand is in turn supporting the feelings of its factory workers. Regardless, New Balance probably didn’t think about the potential backlash that would come with this statement just a day after the election results were announced.

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