White supremacists have embraced New Balance sneakers as the official shoe of white people after one of the company’s spokesman praised President-elect Donald Trump’s protectionist trade policies.

“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,” Matthew LeBretton, public affairs chief for New Balance, told the Wall Street Journal last Thursday, in reference to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the trade deal that Barack Obama has endorsed and Trump has opposed.

Even as the company soon attempted to revise and clarify that statement, the ‘alt-right’ had taken up their cause.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis of the crisis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“It’s time to get on-board with New Balance now,” Andrew Anglin, editor of the neo-Nazi Daily Stormer Web site, wrote in a post over the weekend. “Their brave act has just made them the official brand of the Trump Revolution.”

“This will be fantastic,” he added, urging followers to purchase the shoes. “We will be able to recognize one another by our sportswear.”

Based in Boston, with five domestic factories, the sneaker company has fretted over the deal, which it has said would lessen its competitiveness against foreign manufacturers.

New Balance renounced Anglin’s support on November 16:

pic.twitter.com/lXtWlCFkIV

— New Balance (@newbalance) November 15, 2016

That did not stop a backlash from ensuing, as consumers attacked the company and dumped its shoes into videos they posted to social media.

“@newbalance here’s to moving in the right direction. Never again will I or any of my family ever buy #newbalance,” wrote one on the social media site, attaching a photo of New Balance sneakers in the trash.

@newbalance here’s to moving in the right direction. Never again will I or any of my family ever buy #newbalance pic.twitter.com/5OOhaO9gln

— Brandon (@DadofGabriel) November 10, 2016

“Returned my @newbalance shoes to your new San Francisco store,” wrote another user.

Returned my @newbalance shoes to your new San Francisco store pic.twitter.com/AFACKpy8tM

— Matt (@2_up) November 10, 2016

“@newbalance Fire the rep if you’re serious,” one of them advised. “Don’t forget that we educated types buy more running shoes than the white nationalists you lure.”

@newbalance Fire the rep if you’re serious. Don’t forget that we educated types buy more running shoes than the white nationalists you lure.

— ByWatterson (@ByWatterson) November 15, 2016

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount