President Trump on Sunday leveraged the office of the president of the United States against a private American company for seeking to insulate itself from his trade war.
“Great!” he wrote of purported plans by customers of Harley-Davidson to boycott the venerable motorcycle company over its plan to move production of motorcycles sold in Europe to factories outside the United States. The firm, founded in Milwaukee in 1903, estimated that it would lose $100 million annually from steel tariffs imposed by the president in March.
His early-morning tweet followed a meeting Saturday with “Bikers for Trump” at his golf course in Bedminster, N.J.
About 180 members of the group chanted “Four more years!” and “USA!” as they entered the ornate ballroom, according to the Associated Press.
The president thanked them and praised their rides, calling them “the most beautiful bikes anyone’s ever seen.”
As recently as last year, Trump extolled the company, saying in a meeting with executives in the Roosevelt Room that he considered Harley-Davidson a “true American icon, one of the greats.”
His view changed when the firm’s leaders announced this summer that they would use overseas facilities for production of bikes headed for sale in Europe.
The company said it would not change its long-standing policy of not selling motorcycles in the United States that are made overseas.
Trump gambled that even those fond of the brand would stick by his side, threatening in June, “If they move, watch, it will be the beginning of the end.”
His comments over the weekend marked an escalation of that rhetoric – and represented the first time since he became president that he has called on Twitter for a “boycott” of an American company, media organizations aside.
He said that “we should boycott Fake News CNN” on Twitter last year, and he reposted a message calling for a boycott of the NFL for failing to take more severe action against players who kneel during the national anthem.
Before he took the oath of office, Trump frequently called for boycotts. He has urged his followers to abstain from companies such as Macy’s and Apple and has aimed his ire at entire countries, writing in 2014, “Boycott Mexico.”
Trump seemed to reach a truce last month with leaders of the European Union to avert an intensifying trade war, agreeing with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to hold back on proposed car tariffs and to try to resolve their conflict over steel and aluminum. Still, he vowed earlier this month to move forward with tariffs as a central feature of his economic policy, denigrating his critics as “fools.” He said the new levies would prove effective in forcing other nations to renegotiate trade deals with the United States. As tension with European countries ebbed, it mounted with China.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.