From NBC to Macy's: After racist comments, these leading firms dump Donald Trump

US departmental store Macy’s has joined Univision, NBC and a host of other companies in dropping business magnate Donald Trump in light of his comments about Mexican immigrants where he characterized them as rapists and drug dealers. The comments come soon after  the US investor and television personality Trump announced he’s running for the President.

In a long-winded kick-off speech, in which Trump spoke about his plans to control illegal immigration, he said he would build a “great wall” and make Mexico pay for it because Mexico is “sending” people who are rapists, drug dealers and criminals, and a few ‘good people,’" too.

Not only did Twitter troll Trump over his “racist, xenophobic” comments, four leading companies who promoted the television personality dumped him officially.

The Macy’s chain said in a statement that it’s “disappointed and distressed” by Trump’s remarks and will end its relationship with him. However, Trump quickly informed the media that it was he who ended the relationship with the retail giant and not the other way round. In a statement, Trump said:

“Clearly, NBC and Macy’s support illegal immigration, which is totally detrimental to the fabric of our once great country. Both Macy’s and NBC totally caved at the first sight of potential difficulty with special interest groups who are nothing more than professional agitators, who are not looking out for the people they purport to represent, but only for themselves. It is people like this that are actually running our country because our leaders are weak and ineffective.”

Here is a list of companies which refused to endorse Trump’s ‘distasteful’ comments:

25 June: Univision fires Trump

The largest Spanish-language network was hardly amused by Trump’s Mexico comments and pulled out of its planned broadcasts of the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, which Trump co-owns, The RollingStone reported. “We see first-hand the work ethic, love for family, strong religious values and the important role Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans have had and will continue to have in building the future of our country. We will not be airing the Miss USA pageant on July 12th or working on any other projects tied to the Trump Organization,” the company had said in a statement.

Trump, soon after Univision’s statement, sued the network for $500 million, calling the move “a politically motivated attempt to suppress Trump’s freedom of speech under the First Amendment as he begins to campaign for the nation’s presidency.”

29 June: NBC

The second domino to fall was NBC. The NBC Universal dumped his beauty pageants and reiterated that he will not be in The Apprentice anymore. The parent company of NBC, NBC News and Telemundo, in a statement said , “At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values. Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBCUniversal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump.”

Trump fired back and Associated Press quoted him as saying, “If NBC is so weak and so foolish to not understand the serious illegal immigration problem in the United States, coupled with the horrendous and unfair trade deals we are making with Mexico, then their contract violating closure of Miss Universe/Miss USA will be determined in court.”

29 June: Televisa says ‘bye bye’ to Donald Trump

Noting that “Mr. Trump hasn’t demonstrated understanding or respect toward Mexican migrants and has offended the entire Mexican population,” Televisa also dropped Trump. The network, which owns the Miss Mexico pageant, also said that it will not be sending a Miss Mexico contestant this year.

30 June: Ora TV

A TV company backed by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim joined the other leading networks and scrapped a project it was developing with real estate mogul Donald Trump because of comments he made about Mexican immigrants.

“[W>orking with such a closed-minded person would simply not work. Trump’s comments are racist,” said Ora TV chairman Arturo Elías Ayub, who is Slim’s son-in-law. “At Grupo Carso" – Slim’s holding company – “we are 100% inclusive, we respect all people, we respect all sexes, races, religions and nationalities. Trump does not think this way. It is difficult to work with a person that does not share our values.”

1 July: Macy’s Departmental Store

Macy’s pulled its star from Donald on 1 July saying “no tolerance for discrimination in any form.” Macy’s has carried a Donald Trump menswear line since 2004, including $70 button-down shirts and $65 striped ties. Most items were heavily discounted on Macy’s website on Wednesday. “We welcome all customers, and respect for the dignity of all people is a cornerstone of our culture.”

“Macy’s is a company that stands for diversity and inclusion. We have no tolerance for discrimination in any form,” the company said in an emailed statement, Reuters reported. “In light of statements made by Donald Trump, which are inconsistent with Macy’s values, we have decided to discontinue our business relationship with Mr. Trump.” 

Trump, although told media that it was his idea to end the relationship with Macy’s! Yes, Mr Trump, we believe you! This is what he said in his statement:

“I have decided to terminate my relationship with Macy’s because of the pressure being put on them by outside sources. While selling Trump ties and shirts at Macy’s is a small business in terms of dollar volume, my principles are far more important and therefore much more valuable. I have never been happy about the fact that the ties and shirts are made in China, and should I start a new product line somewhere in the future, I would insist that they are made in America.”