President-elect Donald Trump is praising L.L. Bean heiress Linda Bean for supporting him during the election. Trump tweeted Thursday morning that Bean is courageous for backing his candidacy.
His tweet comes amid a boycott of the Freeport-based retailer by the group Grab Your Wallet, and as the company has sought to distance itself from the political interests of Bean, a member of the company’s 10-member board of directors. The company has also asserted its desire to stay out of politics.
“Thank you to Linda Bean of L.L.Bean for your great support and courage. People will support you even more now. Buy L.L.Bean,” Trump tweeted.
Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage, a Trump supporter, also weighed in today, saying in a written statement that it's "reprehensible how progressives bullied" Bean.
The boycott effort by Grab Your Wallet was initiated after reports that Linda Bean’s political action committee, Making America Great Again LLC, had run afoul of Federal Election Commission rules around disclosure of communications and ads it ran to support Trump, and because Bean herself exceeded contribution limits for the type of PAC she operated.
On Thursday, Bean defended herself in an interview with Fox Business Network, drawing a line between her personal actions and the company that bears her family name.
“Well it’s a bullying. It’s bullying me personally. It’s bullying now the company that didn’t give the donation. I gave the donation personally to a PAC to support Trump. And you know my cousin gave to Obama four years ago. And he gave many more times the amount I did,” she said. “But the point is we should have that privilege. We live in America. This is a free country.”
Shannon Coulter, the co-founder of Grab Your Wallet, told Maine Public that the group would withdraw its boycott if L.L. Bean removed Linda Bean from its 10-member board of directors.
Earlier this week L.L. Bean board chairman Shawn Gorman posted a statement on the company’s Facebook page saying he is deeply troubled and disappointed by a boycott initiated because of the political interests of one board member.
“L.L. Bean does not endorse political candidates, take positions on political matters or make political contributions. Simply put, we stay out of politics. To be included in this boycott campaign is simply misguided, and we respectfully request that Grab Your Wallet reverse its position,” he wrote.
“As fans of L.L. Bean’s products, everybody is hoping that the company is really seriously evaluating whether or not Linda Bean’s presence and contributions to the company are worth the damage she continues to inflict on L.L. Bean’s brand and reputation,” Coulter says.
Grab Your Wallet was formed in mid-October, shortly after a tape was released in which Trump bragged in vulgar terms about using his celebrity to kiss and grope women and to convince them to have sex with him.
Coulter, a media marketing specialist based in San Francisco, says the group’s purpose is to influence consumer spending habits — particularly those of women — to force retailers and other companies to end business relationships with Trump and his family.
“It’s really not about politics. It’s about common decency and respect,” she says.
But in her interview with Fox, Bean characterized the group in different terms.
“They want to control how we spend our money, what we buy, where we buy it. That’s un-American,” she said.
While L.L. Bean does not appear to have a business relationship with Trump or his family, Linda Bean is behind a political action committee that bought ads and other communications to support his candidacy.
Linda Bean is one of the company’s 10-member board of directors and the granddaughter of Leon Leonwood Bean, the company’s founder. According to finance reports, her PAC spent over $60,000 last year supporting Trump’s candidacy with Bean, a prolific conservative donor, contributing most of the money.
The PAC made news last week after it was notified by the FEC that it had exceeded individual contribution limits, including three separate donations totaling $60,000 by Bean herself. Additionally, the FEC letter said the PAC had failed to file on time for several independent expenditures for ads and communications supporting Trump and opposing Hillary Clinton.
A spokesman for the FEC said federal law prohibits him from commenting on the potential enforcement cases. However, Bean’s PAC on Friday sent two updated filings to address the issues outlined in the FEC letter.
One filing clarifies that Bean’s group is a super PAC, which allows groups and individuals to contribute unlimited amounts of money to the committee. Had Bean’s group originally filed as a super PAC, Bean’s donations would have been legal under federal law. The group has also filed an amended independent expenditure report, as requested by the FEC.
It’s unclear whether the PAC will face any fines for the late filings. It has until Feb. 8 to file any additional information to the FEC.
Bean is a prolific donor to conservative candidates and causes. She gave over $30,000 to Maine-based PACs this year, including one headed by Gov. Paul LePage. Bean has also contributed to federal PACs and candidates, including Republican Sen. Rand Paul and a PAC supporting former presidential candidate Carly Fiorina.
Other members of the company directors have supported various causes and political candidates, including Gorman, who has donated to Republican congressional and presidential candidates. The late Leon Gorman and his wife have supported Democratic candidates.
