To President Donald Trump, Harley-Davidson motorcycles are an icon of American industry. The president often invokes their name and even hosted the company's executives at the White House shortly after taking office.
But now, thanks to the president, Harley-Davidson will be leaving the United States for production facilities overseas. Why?
According to Harley-Davidson, Trump's trade wars.
When the president decided to start trade wars on all fronts with American allies, businesses like Harley-Davidson that do a thriving business in European sales of their American made products got caught in the crossfire. In order to maintain a profitable European sales market, Harley-Davidson will need to move production where their product won't be subject to retaliatory EU tariffs.
But Trump claims innocence in the matter.
But other than Trump's hardcore base of about 28% of voters, according to recent polls, no one is buying what Trump's selling. And responses directly to the president on his tweet are running much heavier on the "I don't believe you" side than the MAGA loyalist one.
Some even called out Trump on his own Trump Organization's made in China, made in Mexico, not made in the USA products.
And a few questioned if the tweet came from the president or was dictated to and typed by a staffer or his phone was hijacked by an adviser because, "hence" and a lack of inappropriate capitalization.
The tweet by Trump's account was one of several where he invoked the name of Harley-Davidson. Trump finished off with a threat against the company if they don't acquiesce to his demands.
NBC News via Lisa Anderson
