LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Macy’s department store chain joined an ongoing exodus from association with Donald Trump and New Mexico’s governor and New York City’s mayor slammed him over his comments on Mexican immigrants.
Gov. Susana Martinez of New Mexico, the nation’s only Latina governor and a rising star in the Republican party, added her voice Wednesday to criticism of the GOP presidential hopeful, denouncing his comments as “horrible.”
Trump’s presidential campaign announcement contained his assertion that some Mexican immigrants to the United States bring drugs and crime, and some are rapists.
New York City officials said Wednesday they are reviewing the city’s contracts with Trump in light of his comments, and Mayor Bill de Blasio issued a statement calling them “disgusting and offensive,” adding that “this hateful language has no place in our city.”
The Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point Park opened in April in the Bronx and the Trump Organization has a 20-year concession agreement to operate the facility.
Representatives for Trump did not respond Wednesday to an email seeking comment on the city’s review.
Trump’s team was struggling to hold the Miss USA pageant together following defections by hosts, performers, judges and the two TV networks that were scheduled to broadcast the event on July 12. Trump owns the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants.
The pageant issued a statement earlier this week that “we are disheartened by recent events but the show will go on.”
Rapper Flo Rida had been the highest-profile performer scheduled for Miss USA in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and his representative confirmed Wednesday that he would not perform. Country singer Craig Wayne Boyd, winner of “The Voice” last year, and pop singer Natalie La Rose, whose single “Somebody” hit the Billboard Top Ten this year, also dropped out. There were no more announced performers.
Emmitt Smith, the former Dallas Cowboys running back who was a judge for Miss USA, cited Trump’s statement and NBC’s decision in backing out and sent his best wishes to the competitors who had been preparing for the pageant.
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. 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 have no tolerance for discrimination in any form,” the company said. “We welcome all customers, and respect for the dignity of all people is a cornerstone of our culture.”
The move comes after an outcry on social media, including online petitions, for Macy’s to drop the line. NBC, TV Company Ora TV and Mexican TV network Televisa also have cut ties to Trump.
Trump said in a statement that he had decided to end his relationship with Macy’s because of pressure put upon them by outside sources. He said he was never happy that the ties and shirts were made in China, and if he were to do another product line in the future, he would insist they were American-made.
“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,” Trump said.
The city of Bogota, Colombia, also was heard from this week. In protest of Trump’s comments, its tourism board said it was withdrawing support for a campaign it had helped organize to host the next Miss Universe pageant.
It had decided to organize the bid with private businesses as a result of Colombian Paulina Vega’s win in the 2014 Miss Universe pageant. Colombia had been in the running with China.
HGTV “Property Brothers” star Jonathan Scott was also one of the pageant’s judges but backed out, too, saying on Facebook that he could not support Trump’s views.
“We are all on this big rock together,” he said, “and I choose love.”
Besides Smith and HGTV’s Scott, Miss USA listed country singer Jessie James Decker, E! News anchor Terrence Jenkins and TV host and former Miss Universe winner Zuleyka Rivera as pageant judges in a news release issued last month. Of that quintet, only Decker’s name was listed as a judge by Miss USA on its website Wednesday. A show spokeswoman said she had no information about judges or performers.
The pageant lost both of its co-hosts, Cheryl Burke of “Dancing With the Stars” and MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts, on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Jeannie Mai, who hosted a show on the Style Network, was listed as a show host.
Last week, the hosts of the Univision simulcast, Roselyn Sanchez and Cristian de la Fuente, said they wouldn’t take part in the Spanish-language telecast.
Trump’s campaign comments struck many Latinos as insensitive, and Univision’s decision last week to back out of televising Miss USA and break off its business ties with Trump led to a cascade of others following suit. Trump responded by suing Univision on Tuesday.
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Associated Press writers David Bauder, Michael Balsamo, Mesfin Fekadu and Mae Anderson in New York and Russell Contreras in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed to this report.
