On Wednesday morning, Macy's announced it would cut ties with Donald Trump following remarks made about Mexicans in his presidential campaign announcement speech. Macy's will begin to "phase-out" Trump's collection of menswear immediately and will "discontinue [their] relationship with Mr. Trump" entirely. Macy's has sold the collection since 2004.
"Macy's is a company that stands for diversity and inclusion. We have no tolerance for discrimination in any form. We welcome all customers, and respect for the dignity of all people is a cornerstone of our culture. We are disappointed and distressed by recent remarks about immigrants from Mexico. We do not believe the disparaging characterizations portray an accurate picture of the many Mexicans, Mexican Americans and Latinos who have made so many valuable contributions to the success of our nation," Macy's said in a statement.
Following Macy's announcement, Trump issued a statement saying it was his decision to split from Macy's. "Clearly, NBC and Macy's support illegal immigration, which is totally detrimental to the fabric of our once great country," Trump said. He added that in the event he is elected, he will "greatly strengthen our border, making it impenetrable, putting a stop to illegal immigration once and for all."
NBC and Univision cut ties with Trump following his remarks. Neither network plans to air the Miss USA pageant, which Trump owns part of. In retaliation, Trump sued Univision for $500 million and said he also plans to sue NBC.
In the lawsuit against Univision, both Trump and Miss Universe (the organization that runs Miss USA) are named as plaintiffs. Trump accuses Univision of breaching "the covenant of good faith and fair dealing" by terminating their relationship with him.
Trump also argues Univision dropped Trump because Haim Saban, an owner of the company, has donated to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Trump argues Saban tried "to supress Mr. Trump's freedom of speech under the First Amendment as he begins to campaign for the nation's presidency and, in recent weeks, has dramaticaly risen in the polls while expressing critical views of Mrs. Clinton." On June 21, Trump was polling at 3.2 percent. He has since risen to 6 percent.
The lawsuit also names Alberto Ciurana, Univision's president of programming and content, as Ciurana posted a message on Instagram comparing Trump to Dylann Roof, the alleged shooter in the Charleston church shooting that killed nine African-American worshippers. "While Mr. Cuirana would later remove the defamatory post, the damage was already done," the lawsuit states, adding the post was "yet another example of Univision's dubious efforts to create a false narrative in an attempt to upset Mr. Trump's longstanding personal and business relationship with the Hispanic community."
Read the entire court filing below:
Miss Universe and Donald Trump v. Univision
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Polly Mosendz is a breaking news reporter for Newsweek. She was previously a staff writer for The Wire and associate ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
