New Balance "may be the first corporation to get hit by backlash against President-elect Donald Trump" after the company welcomed Trump's election "as a reprieve from the policies of President Barack Obama," according to Sara Germano of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. New Balance VP/Public Affairs Matthew LeBretton on Wednesday said, "The Obama administration turned a deaf ear to us and frankly, with President-elect Trump, we feel things are going to move in the right direction." The comments "sparked controversy on social media, with hundreds of users posting on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram that they would throw out their sneakers or boycott the brand." The Boston-based footwear maker has opposed the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership for "jeopardizing its domestic manufacturing while rewarding rivals that rely more heavily on overseas production." The company in a statement said that it "continues to support the trade positions" of Trump "as well as those of" former presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders (WSJ.com, 11/10). In San Diego, Luis Gomez notes New Balance "wants to keep production in America and now believes Trump is its best chance to keep jobs in the U.S." However, many people were so upset with the company's statements that they "set their New Balance sneakers ablaze or threw them in the trash" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 11/11).
TAKING A STAND: The BBC noted Mexican F1 driver Sergio Pérez has "dumped one of his sponsors for sending a disrespectful tweet." He was "incensed" after sunglasses manufacturer Hawkers tweeted in the wake of Trump's victory that Mexicans "should buy its shades to hide their tears" when Trump began to build a border wall (BBC, 11/10).
