Oh, wait. This IS a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
Source: Harley-Davidson
If there was any doubt that Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) was going all-in on an electrified future, the U.S. motorcycle leader just dispelled it by unveiling three prototype pedal-assist electric bicycles designed primarily for urban riders.
As it prepares to officially launch its high-performance LiveWire electric motorcycle next month, Harley is making clear this is no longer your father’s motorcycle company. It has a new vision about how people will get around tomorrow, and it intends to adapt to fit within it.
Yet, as is seemingly always the case with Harley-Davidson, the question of how well its new offerings might be received in the marketplace depends heavily on how much they’ll cost. [Rich Duprey, The Motley Fool]
But the very idea of adapting to the new climate realities is anathema to President Trump and many of his allies, and thus this is the return volley, the sharp stick in the eye, for Trump’s attack on the company in 2018.
Harley-Davidson is one of the great iconic, cross-cultural brands of the United States. As much as conservatives would love to embrace it as its own, the truth is that riders of all political stripes have adored the brand for decades. It’s decision to embrace, rather than ignore, the findings of science when it comes to climate change, marks a cleaving between themselves and the climate-denying conservatives who’ve supported Trump – and leaves those right-wing extremists (for, in truth, they do not satisfy the definition of conservative) just a little bit weaker when it comes to their American credentials.
For Harley-Davidson, this is a two-fer: a new product line they hope will be embraced by younger generations, while slyly kicking Trump and his allies in the nuts.
And for Trump, not only has this venerable brand refused to swear allegiance to him, personally, by moving some manufacturing to Europe, but his intellectual assertions are repudiated by this product line offering. His Administration’s shameful refusal to work and lead on the climate change problem – potential disaster, let’s not mince words – has another spotlight shone on it, showing the irresponsibility of putting a limited business leader and man into a political leader’s position.
