[Whitfield:] Outdoor retail store, L.L. Bean, is caught in the middle of some political drama. The granddaughter of the founder is a Trump supporter and that prompted an anti-Trump group to call for an L.L. Bean boycott. CNN's Jason Carroll has the story and Donald Trump's tweets on the feud.
[Unidentified Protester:] L.L. Bean.
[Jason Carroll, Cnn Correspodnent:] Boycott L.L. Bean? Not if the president-elect has anything to say about it. Donald Trump tweeted, "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." That, after an anti-Trump movement, called Grab Your Wallet, added the outdoor retailer to a list of companies it says consumers should boycott for supporting Trump.
[Linda Bean, Board Member, L.l. Bean:] I think it's very much a case of bullying. It's bullying me. It's bullying the companies that I own.
[Carroll:] Federal Election Commission reports show Bean donated $30,000 during the 2016 campaign to a political organization backing Trump. L.L. Bean is urging the boycott organizers to reconsider, saying in a statement released over the weekend, "No individual alone speaks on behalf of the business or represents the values of the company that L.L. built." Adding that, "L.L. Bean does not endorse political candidates, take positions on political matters, or make political contributions. Simply put, we stay out of politics." Trump, not the only one coming to the company's defense. Independent Senator Angus King, of Maine, where L.L. Bean is based, says "The boycott efforts are misguided." King tells CNN, "L.L. Bean is a nonpartisan company. I have known them and worked with them for virtually all my adult life. They take no role in politics." Linda Bean says there is a political double standard, insisting her cousin's contributions to President Obama's campaign did not produce the same response.
[Bean:] Definitely, a double standard. And they're victimizing both these guys won. Obama won and Trump won. My cousin's candidate, my candidate
[Unidentified Show Co-host:] Your cousin
[Bean:] but I'm the one that's being targeted and vilified.
[Carroll:] And Benn says those call federal government home run her to step down from the board should not hold their breath.
[Bean:] I never back down, if I feel I'm right. And I do feel that they're bullies. That's all they are. A small kernel of hard-core bullies on the west coast in California trying to control what we do, what we buy, what we sell in Maine.
[Carroll:] Trump's support for Bean is raising some questions about the president-elect's support for her family's company. Former FEC general counsel, Larry Noble, says Trump's tweet might have gone too far.
[Larry Noble, General Counsel, Campaignl Legal Center & Former Fec General Counsel:] He's willing to use the power of the presidency to get what he wants at any given moment regardless of whether or not the president should be doing that.
[Carrol:] Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] All right, still ahead, a war of words is brewing between Congressman John Lewis and Donald Trump. The president-elect criticized the civil rights icon over, quote, "being all talk and no action." We'll discuss, next.