Our New President Just Got His First Sneaker Endorsement

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New Balance is the first brand to back Trump.

It's extremely rare that a sneaker brand—especially the big hitters, with their multi-billion dollar bottom lines—explicitly endorses a President. Actually we're not sure it's ever happened before. (Being bipartisan is just smart business as we may have different opinions, but we pretty much all wear shoes.) And yet, tonight New Balance endorsed our new President-Elect, Donald J. Trump. In a statement issued to the Wall Street Journal, the sneaker brand stated the following:

Meanwhile, Nike supported the Trans-Pacific Partnership. According to New Balance brand, its endorsement comes in the wake of President Obama's neglect of manufacturing jobs like those New Balance has worked hard to keep in the United States. As many know, in recent years the brand has made its Made-in-America sneakers a cornerstone of its marketing campaign, and it's a cause we have looked at with great adoration. (And die-hard #menswear fans know New Balance's Massachusetts factory has appeared ad nauseam in "how it's made" videos throughout the years.) Point is, at New Balance, its employees are the brand's crown jewel, whom seem to be proud to work in one of the few good-paying factory jobs left in the United States.

Over the past few years, we've lauded New Balance's ability to turn out quality, stylish footwear while maintaining a manufacturing presence in the United States as other brands fled to China, Vietnam, and elsewhere. Style-wise, it's been truly impressive how the brand has managed to go from The Official Shoes of Old People™ to legitimate sneakerhead favorite. Yet as a company that has put so much effort into its collaborations with young, city-based brands like Kith, Wings+Horns, and Concepts, a Trump endorsement is not at all what we expected.

Fun (if non-sequitur) Fact: New Balance was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1906 by William J. Riley, a British immigrant.

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http://www.gq.com/story/donald-trump-new-balance-sneakers

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