Walmart pulling anti-Trump merchandise from website
Retail giant Walmart announced Tuesday it would pull third-party anti-Trump apparel from its online marketplace after the company faced a boycott from supporters of President Trump.
A spokesman for the company told Fox News that the company was removing “Impeach 45” clothing, made by apparel company Old Glory, from its online store, which allows third parties to submit items for sale.
{mosads}”These items were sold by third party sellers on our open marketplace, and were not offered directly by Walmart. We’re removing these types of items pending review of our marketplace policies,” a Walmart spokesperson told the news outlet.
The items sold by the company included a plain white T-shirt with “Impeach 45,” referring to Trump, emblazoned in white and blue lettering across the front.
The items were first pointed out by Ryan Fournier, chairman of the group Students for Trump, who pointed out the clothing on his Twitter account.
.@walmart why are you selling Impeach 45 baby clothes on your website?????
What kind of message are you trying to send? https://t.co/PwI4nCVAZx
— Ryan Fournier (@RyanAFournier) July 3, 2018
“What kind of message are you trying to send?” Fournier tweeted.
The tweet and others like it sparked the hashtag #BoycottWalmart, which was a top trend in the U.S. on Twitter for parts of Tuesday.
Walmart’s explanation and apology was noticed by Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale, who tweeted that there was “no reason to boycott” following Walmart’s statement.
“No need to boycott. @Walmart has assured me that the merchandise will be down as soon as possible. It was not deliberate. Thank you @Walmart for doing the right thing!” he tweeted.
No need to boycott. @Walmart has assured me that the merchandise will be down as soon as possible. It was not deliberate. Thank you @Walmart for doing the right thing! https://t.co/3idCTXIoCA
— Brad Parscale (@parscale) July 3, 2018
Wal-Mart has faced controversy over items on its third-party marketplace before, and last year issued a statement after a shirt appearing to urge violence against reporters was listed for sale on the site.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.