New Balance Burned for Praising Trump’s Trade Stance

The shoemaker says it’s being unfairly targeted for opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

A customer tries on a New Balance sneaker at the House Of Hoops by Foot Locker retail store at the Beverly Center in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2013.

Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
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As protests against U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump roil cities across America, people have found a corporate logo to symbolize their anger and dismay. It’s emblazoned on the side of their shoes.

New Balance, the privately held Boston shoemaker, found itself in consumer cross-hairs after declaring that Trump’s imminent ascension to the White House is a move in the “right direction.” The backlash was sparked by a tweet from the Wall Street Journal’s Sara Germano, who quoted a New Balance spokesperson saying President Barack Obama’s administration had “turned a deaf ear” to New Balance.