CEO ‘Good’ on pro-cop attire

Goodyear Tire Chief Executive Rich Kramer said on Thursday the company had clarified its policy to make clear employees can wear apparel expressing support for law enforcement after it faced a boycott call from President Trump.

Trump, fighting for a second term in office, told reporters Wednesday he would swap out the Goodyear tires on his presidential limousine if there was an alternative.

Goodyear on Thursday said it had a long-standing policy of asking employees to refrain from workplace expressions of support for any political candidates.

Trump accused the Ohiobased company of “playing politics” by forbidding workers from donning the “Make America Great Again” caps favored by his supporters.

“Don’t buy GOODYEAR TIRES - They announced a BAN ON MAGA HATS,” he tweeted Wednesday, referring to his slogan “Make America Great Again” often emblazoned on red baseball caps.

Trump said it was “disgraceful” that the company would prevent employees from wearing attire supporting the “Blue Lives Matter” movement, which supports law enforcement, while allowing support for other causes.

Goodyear said a widely circulated image created by a plant employee that triggered the controversy was not created or distributed by the company’s corporate group.

The image spelled out appropriate and inappropriate displays, with “Black Lives Matter” and “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride” deemed acceptable, while “Blue Lives Matter” and “MAGA attire” were not.

Kramer said Goodyear “strongly supports” law enforcement, noting it has supplied tires to police and fire vehicles for more than a century.

Shares in Goodyear fell as much as 6 percent Wednesday after Trump’s tweet, but pared some losses to close down 2.4 percent. The year shares fell 0.4 percent Thursday, to $9.46.