Democratic Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan Criticizes Trump’s Goodyear Boycott, Says It Is A ‘Dumb Move’ Politically

Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, criticized Trump’s call for a consumer boycott of tire manufacturing company Goodyear on Wednesday. Ryan characterized the boycott as a “dumb move” by Trump, as the company is headquartered in Ohio, a vital swing state in this year’s election.

“This is an iconic American company in a swing state … It’s really, really dumb politically. But it shows the problem that he has — that it’s more about him than it is about other people,” Ryan told the Daily Beast, referring to Trump.

“He’s directly saying, he wants to put you out of a job,” Ryan said. The Ohio congressman represents Akron, where Goodyear has its global headquarters.

“Don’t buy GOODYEAR TIRES - They announced a BAN ON MAGA HATS. Get better tires for far less! (This is what the Radical Left Democrats do. Two can play the same game, and we have to start playing it now!),” Trump tweeted on Wednesday.

A Goodyear employee in Topeka, Kansas, shared a slide on social media that listed “acceptable” and “unacceptable” forms of attire at Goodyear’s corporate office in Akron. The “Make America Great Again” slogan was listed as “unacceptable.”

“The visual in question was not created or distributed by Goodyear corporate, nor was it part of a diversity training class,” an official statement from Goodyear said about the slide. The company said that in order to reduce harassment and discrimination in the workplace, employees are asked not to don items “in support of political campaigning for any candidate or political party, as well as similar forms of advocacy that fall outside the scope of racial justice and equity issues.”

Trump’s remarks could negatively impact his standing in Ohio, a state that he handily won against Hillary Clinton in 2016. Ohio has 18 electoral votes and was won by Democratic President Barack Obama in the 2012 and 2008 elections.

Democratic nominee Joe Biden shot back at Trump’s call for a boycott of Goodyear.

“Goodyear employs thousands of American workers, including in Ohio where it is headquartered,” Biden said in an exclusive statement to the Akron Beacon Journal. “To President Trump, those workers and their jobs aren’t a source of pride, just collateral damage in yet another one of his political attacks."