Our next president wants you to 'buy L.L. Bean'
And now a word from our sponsors:
President-elect Donald Trump's out-of-the-blue promotion of Maine-based retailer L.L. Bean arrives even as the company has frantically tried to backtrack and distance itself from Linda Bean, a pro-Trump member of the company's board of directors. (Never mind the fact that Trump linked to Bean's Maine lifestyle company in his tweet instead of the actual L.L. Bean account).
The Bean family, employees, and customers "represent the full spectrum of political and social views," L.L. Bean said in a statement last Friday after it came out that Linda Bean contributed $60,000 to Making America Great Again LLC. "The L.L. Bean company does not endorse political candidates, nor do we take positions on political matters or make political contributions," a spokeswoman said.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.