COLUMBUS, Ohio (WJW)– Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine was clear that he does not support President Donald Trump‘s calls to boycott Akron-based Goodyear Tire and Rubber.
Trump urged his Twitter followers to not buy tires from Goodyear, citing an alleged ban on “Make American Great Again” hats.
The company has since clarified that is asks all associates to refrain from campaigning for any candidate or party in the workplace. Goodyear also said the slide in question was created by a person at the company’s Topeka, Kansas plant, and was not approved by corporate.
“We should not boycott this good company with good Ohio workers, who are doing a good job in making a good product,” DeWine said during his coronavirus news conference on Thursday.
DeWine admitted he did not fully understand the situation involving Goodyear, which employs about 63,000 people.
“I’m a believer in the First Amendment, and as much as any company has a right to run its business the way it wants to run it, I think it’s always better if people have the ability to express themselves as long as that doesn’t get in the way of the work,” the governor continued. “I come down on the side of the First Amendment.”
He said he knows that legally that companies can control what goes on in the work environment.
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