The Harley-Davidson motorbike model and enterprise mannequin are being “attacked” from inside, social-media influencer Robby Starbuck prompt in a brand new put up on X.
He cited the phrases of the corporate’s personal CEO, Jochen Zeitz, who’s been accused of going woke as he oversees the long-lasting model. The German-born Zeitz took over as CEO in Could 2020.
“Think about standing in entrance of CEOs of luxurious manufacturers that now assume you’re the ‘sustainable Taliban,’ as anyone as soon as known as me,” Zeitz stated in a speech on the Zermatt Summit in Switzerland in 2020, referencing his time as board member of Kiering, mother or father firm of Gucci, Puma and Stella McCartney.
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A couple of minutes later in the identical speech, Zeitz referenced the phobia group once more, as proven within the video that Starbuck shared this week.
“In fact, Harley’s all concerning the sound and the odor of the Harley-Davidson, isn’t it?” Zeitz stated to attendees on the stylish Swiss convention.
A pink, white and blue Harley-Davidson motorbike in Chicago, Illinois. (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Common Photos Group through Getty Photos)
“So I grew to become the Taliban once more in a sustainable method,” Zeitz stated within the video, as he is proven smiling and strolling forwards and backwards on stage and referencing Harley-Davidson.
“I made a decision to share, to create a sustainability committee, which I am nonetheless chairing immediately.”
Starbuck, alongside along with his social media followers and lots of longtime Harley-Davidson riders, had been shocked by the CEO’s glib comparability to a terror group that has American blood on its fingers.
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“I feel it is f—— disgusting,” motorcycling media mogul James “Hollywood” Macecari instructed Fox Information Digital upon listening to the comparability.
The Taliban is the globally condemned terrorist group that guidelines Afghanistan. It provided a house base for Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda terror community earlier than and after it plotted its Sept. 11, 2001 terror assaults on the US.
“I grew to become the Taliban once more in a sustainable method.”
The assaults killed practically 3,000 individuals and injured greater than 6,000 others, in keeping with the U.S. State Division. About 2,500 U.S. service members had been killed within the effort to root out the Taliban within the battle that adopted.
“Harley can crash and burn now for all I care,” Macecari, founding father of Insane Throttle and creator of 4 books, stated final week in an interview about Harley-Davidson’s “woke” insurance policies beneath Zeitz.
Former outlaw biker James “Hollywood” Macecari is the creator of 4 books about motorbike gangs and host of the “Bike Madhouse” podcast. (James “Hollywood” Macecari)
The Biden-Harris administration swiftly deserted Afghanistan in August 2021, forsaking billions of {dollars}’ value of American navy {hardware} within the fingers of the Taliban.
The administration additionally deserted American navy personnel.
Suicide bombers killed 183 individuals, together with 13 U.S. service members, on Aug. 26, 2021, throughout the U.S. navy’s mass evacuation on the Kabul airport.
“These are individuals who have killed People on objective and with objective.”
This week, three years after that chaotic withdrawal, the Taliban paraded its U.S. navy gear by the streets of Kabul in celebration of the second, as Fox Information Digital reported on Wednesday.
“The very first thing that jumps to my thoughts after I hear ‘Taliban’ is all of the aggressive, horrible issues they’ve carried out,” stated Starbuck, who has led a social-media effort to spotlight Harley-Davidson’s drift into controversial far-left administration practices.
Jochen Zeitz, chief govt officer of Harley-Davidson, is proven talking in Berlin, Germany, whereas he was CEO of Puma AG. (Michele Tantussi/Bloomberg through Getty Photos)
He added, “The Taliban raped ladies. They’ve murdered individuals mercilessly. These are individuals who have killed People on objective and with objective. They basically hate our nation. So evaluating your self to them is, on the face, already insane.”
A Harley-Davidson spokesperson responded with a press release to Fox Information Digital.
“Mr. Zeitz’s remarks clarify that he by no means accepts that characterization, as evidenced by his report of dedication to individuals, planet and revenue and as underscored by his life’s work,” the corporate stated.
‘Breaks my coronary heart’
Zeitz’s management, some long-time Harley-Davidson riders declare, has coincided with a downfall of the model’s picture, as soon as synonymous with American muscle, energy and the liberty of its open roads.
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“They killed Harley. It breaks my coronary heart,” Vinny Terranova, proprietor of Pappy’s Classic Cycles in Sturgis, South Dakota, instructed Fox Information Digital in a current interview concerning the CEO’s management.
The Sturgis Bike Rally ended two days early for Harley-Davidson, stated Terranova, who grew to become a outstanding determine within the biker enterprise whereas operating Rocky Mountain Harley-Davidson in Colorado for greater than 40 years.
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“They dropped their tents [on] Saturday and every thing was gone. Every part,” he stated.
“They had been empty all week. No person confirmed up.”
The official finish of the rally was on Monday.
Zeitz, in the identical speech shared by Starbuck, cited his management of the so-called “B Workforce,” co-chaired with Richard Branson and different enterprise and world leaders.
The Harley-Davidson brand is seen close to the model’s retailer in Krakow, Poland, on Jan. 24, 2024. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto through Getty Photos)
“We are attempting to tackle conventional capitalism and attempting to redefine it,” stated Zeitz.
Some long-time Harley-Davidson riders, who devoted their hearts and souls to the model, imagine the redefined Harley has turn into heartless.
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“The most important drawback isn’t just the ‘woke’ bull—-,” longtime Harley rider “Horseshoe” Johnny Henning instructed Fox Information Digital by cellphone from Sturgis.
“The most important drawback is that they simply misplaced their human contact. That is one of the simplest ways to place it.”
Starbuck, for his half, stated that is evident in Zeitz’s comparability to the Taliban.
Harley-Davidson CEO Jochen Zeitz stated, “I grew to become the Taliban,” whereas discussing his strategy to sustainability in a 2020 speech. Some riders immediately say the model has misplaced its human contact beneath his watch. (Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Instances; Tim Boyle/Getty Photos; Michele Tantussi/Bloomberg through Getty Photos)
“Whenever you dig deeper on the comparability, what it actually means is that the Taliban is keen to do something to realize their objectives,” the influencer stated.
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“Completely something.
“The Taliban will do completely something … to realize their objectives,” he emphasised.
