Billionaire Donald Trump has fallen out of favour – and business – with a number of companies after making comments in his presidential campaign launch speech that have caused widespread offence.
The Republican candidate made a speech on 16 June in which he accused Mexican immigrants of bringing drug, rape and other crime into the US. His comments caused outrage among companies linked to Trump as well as US citizens. “When Mexico sends its people they aren’t sending their best,” Trump said. “They are bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they are rapists and some are good people but I speak to border guards and they tell us what we're getting.”
As a result, Houston-based hair care manufacturer Farouk Systems, behind the BioSilk and CHI brands, has withdrawn its sponsorship of the Miss USA, Miss Universe and Miss Teen USA Pageants, which are co-owned by Trump. Farouk Systems CEO Basim Shami, said: “Farouk Systems does not agree with or endorse the statements recently made by Donald Trump about immigrants. Our company is multicultural with people of Latin American descent making up a large percentage of our employees and loyal customers. As a company proudly founded on the concept of coming to the USA in pursuit of the American Dream, Mr. Trump's comments do not and will never reflect our company's philosophy or practices."
Similarly, US retailer Macy’s, which sells a wide range of luxury cosmetics, said it has decided to discontinue its business relationship with Trump, phasing out the Trump menswear collection which has been stocked in-store since 2004. "We have no tolerance for discrimination in any form," Macy's said in a statement. "We welcome all customers, and respect for the dignity of all people is a cornerstone of our culture."
Other media companies including NBC Universal and Univision have also severed ties with Trump and announced their intention to cancel their telecasts of the Miss USA pageant. NBC announced it also does not plan to telecast next year’s Miss Universe.
Trump has filed a $500m lawsuit against Univision, although he has yet to file one against NBC.