After announcing that he was throwing in his hat for the Republican presidential bid, business tycoon Donald Trump has been making waves in the political scene. Within days of announcing his running for presidency, Mr. Trump has been under fire by major corporations that once supported him. This backlash is caused by controversial statements that he had used in his speech on June 16.
"When Mexico sends its people, they are not sending their best. [...] They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems [to] us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” — Donald Trump
Mr. Trump made statements regarding Mexico that were very derogatory in nature. In short, Mr. Trump stated that immigrants from Mexico were bringing drugs, crime and that they are rapists. These statements caused an uproar not only within Latino communities, but also some major corporations that Trump has been working with for several years. One of these corporations includes Macy’s chain department store.
Macy’s and Trumps relationship stretches back all the way to 2004 when the department store first started selling Trump brand clothing. After Trump's speech, the department store decided to cut its 10-year tie with Mr. Trump. The statement they released stated, “We have no tolerance for discrimination in any form. We are disappointed and distressed by recent remarks about immigrants from Mexico.” After they announced they would be cutting ties, the company put all of their Trump suits on sale at an extreme discount.
Although it’s evidently clear that Macy's decided to cut its ties with Trump, he still insists that everything was in fact his decision. Trump claims that he cut ties with the company due to “pressure being put on them by outside sources.” However, Macy’s is not the only company with ties to Trump that decided to cut loose after his statements.
Univision is an American Spanish-Language television network that decided against airing Miss USA seeing as though it is partially-owned and run by Mr. Trump. Trump claims that they are choosing to not air the show in order to give an upper hand to Democratic bid front-runner Hillary Clinton by limiting his freedom of speech. Trump is actually perusing legal action against the company for that reason, suing them for $500 million.
NBC is the latest company that decided to cut ties with Trump by choosing to not air the Miss Universe pageant. They are also looking to cut ties with Trump completely by limiting all association Trump including removing him from the "Apprentice" franchise. They made similar remarks about how they will not tolerate any sort of discrimination like that stated in Mr. Trump's speech.
What does all of this backlash mean for Donald Trump? Well, according to the polls, Trump actually pulled ahead in Iowa and New Hampshire, placing second behind Jeb Bush. Whether this is due to his statements and people liking how he “tells it like it is,” or simply name recognition, his numbers and supporters are increasing. Many Democrats are cheering him on, hoping he will be the face for the GOP by the end of his race. “I am a person of faith — and the Donald’s entry into this race can only be attributed to the fact that the good Lord is a Democrat with a sense of humor,” stated one Paul Begala, a supporter of the HilLary campaign. The Democrats believe this would give them an upper hand seeing as though in the eyes on many, Donald Trump isn’t even a real candidate.