Under Armour founder Kevin Plank is sending a message to President Donald Trump after he made disparaging remarks about the athletic brand’s home city on Twitter.
“On behalf of the thousands of UA Teammates who proudly call Baltimore HOME… Work to be done but we are of this city and for this city.
#WeWill #StandforBaltimore#hometownproud #410 #teamua,” Under Armour Chairman and CEO Kevin Plank captioned an Instagram post late Sunday. The post was a video of an Under Armour commercial from 2017 celebrating Baltimore’s grit and toughness.
Although the post came after Trump’s comments, Plank did not mention the president by name.
Trump took to Twitter on Saturday and blasted Maryland congressman Elijah Cummings, a Democrat who oversees Maryland’s 7th Congressional District. Cummings has been openly critical of detention camp conditions near the Mexico border. In the tweets, the president countered by denouncing the conditions in Baltimore.
“Rep, Elijah Cummings has been a brutal bully, shouting and screaming at the great men & women of Border Patrol about conditions at the Southern Border, when actually his Baltimore district is FAR WORSE and more dangerous. His district is considered the Worst in the USA,” Trump wrote and continued, “As proven last week during a Congressional tour, the Border is clean, efficient & well run, just very crowded. Cumming District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess. If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place.”
More than two years ago, Plank, who previously served on President Donald Trump’s American Manufacturing Council, had been complimentary of Trump and his pro-business approach to the presidency. “To have such a pro-business president is something that is a real asset for the country,” Plank said on CNBC in February 2017.
Shortly after, high-profile Under Armour ambassadors spoke against Trump and Plank. In August 2017, Plank resigned from the business council.
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