Being the president of the United States comes with the good and bad (although it seems like more bad than good, these days) but put this in the former. President Barack Obama received a pair of custom-made gray New Balance 990 running shoes, embroidered with “President” on the left shoe and “Obama” on the right. The president received the size 12D shoes at a campaign fundraiser at the Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine.
But the shoes came with a catch, of sorts. They were presented to him by Maine Representative Mike Michaud of the Second Congressional District, who is urging the president to require the Department of Defense to give service members shoes produced in the U.S. Boston-based New Balance makes shoes in three factories in Michaud’s home state, however the law does not require the DOD to buy footwear that are domestically made.
Obama’s new kicks were handmade in New Balance’s Norridgewock factory in Maine by 32 craftsmen. The 990 is the company’s longest-produced running shoe made in the U.S. They also say “Handmade in the United States.” No word, yet, if the president has been seen sporting his new runners.
Kennebec Journal: New Balance Team Crafts Presidential Running Shoes