Trump shows support for Harley-Davidson boycott if company moves production overseas

'Most other companies are coming in our direction, including Harley competitors,' says POTUS

(AFP/Getty)

Donald Trump has tweeted support for a Harley-Davidson boycott if the US company moves its production overseas.

The president claimed motorcycle owners have indicated plans to boycott Harley-Davidson amid his visit to a Bikers for Trump rally at his golf club in New Jersey over the weekend.

“Many [Harley-Davidson] owners plan to boycott the company if manufacturing moves overseas,” he wrote on Twitter. “Great! Most other companies are coming in our direction, including Harley competitors. A really bad move! [US] will soon have a level playing field, or better.”

Mr Trump’s tweets came amid an ongoing public dispute he has had with the company after the Wisconsin-based manufacturer announced earlier this year it would move production of motorcycles shipped to the European Union outside of the US after the EU imposed tariffs in retaliation to Mr Trump’s duties on steel and aluminium imports.

Harley-Davidson has not returned The Independent’s request for comment.

The president had warned Harley-Davidson back in June that Americans and its customers “won’t forget” should the company shift its production overseas.

Mr Trump welcomed members of a Bikers for Trump fan group at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, over the weekend. Chris Cox, founder of Bikers for Trump, told The New York Times that he supports the president in his opposition to Harley-Davidson moving production overseas.

“We’re not going to sit back on a hope and a promise that they’re going to do the right thing,” he said.

According to the Times report, however, Mr Cox himself has faced difficulty with the high cost of production in the US; he has reportedly sold some Trump T-shirts that were made in Haiti.

“If I get a T-shirt made in the USA., it’s going to cost about $8 (£6) more,” Mr Cox told the Times. “I looked far and wide to try to get a shirt made in America, it’s just they get you, they gouge you.”

Mr Trump celebrated his visit with Bikers for Trump on Twitter, calling the group “great people” who truly love the US.