New Balance shoe owners are throwing away their sneakers, or lighting them on fire in the act of protest after the company reportedly voiced support for the United States’ President-elect Donald Trump.
After Trump’s almost unimaginable victory, the trainer manufacturer’s Vice President of Public Affairs, Matt LeBretton, came out publicly to congratulate the new President-elect. He told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, “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.“
He also suggested the company’s decision to endorse Trump was influenced by his opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership — a trade deal between the United States and 11 other countries.
The brief statement has outraged countless fans of the brand who took to Twitter to express their discontent:
@SoleCollector @newbalance good to know. I made a little bonfire tonight