By Monique
Donald Trump has said some awful things before, but it seems like his karma for saying horrible things might have caught up with him.
As you probably already know, Trump is running for President on the Republican ticket. As such, he’s trying to run on the idea that he’s bringing the country back to what made it great, which seems to involve the erroneous idea that minorities are problems and bring criminality to America (when in actuality, white supremacists are part of the homegrown terrorism that, until the Charleston tragedy, went unchecked) .
During his campaign announcement, Trump said this:
When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime, They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.
Of course, none of this sat well with Mexico and Latinos in general. The backlash against Trump started with Mexico itself threatening to withdraw from the Miss Universe competition, a competition now owned by Trump. On top of that, some of the scheduled talent have broken their contracts with Miss Universe. Columbian singer J. Balvin backed out of his scheduled performance, stating:
We’re talking about our roots, our culture, our values. This isn’t about being punitive, but about showing leadership through social responsibility. His comments weren’t just about Mexicans, but about all Latins in general.”
He also said that he’s “comfortable” with his decision to back out.
Mexicans, they’re known as hard workers. Here in the U.S., not everybody wants to do those kinds of jobs. I’ve lived. I know what it feels like and what they go through and how family suffer. A comment like that is powerful.
This performance would have been Balvin’s first performance in the United States. What a welcome. Also worth noting: rock group Mana also came out against Trump’s statements.
Also reneging on their scheduled appearance is Roselyn Sanchez. Sanchez, the Puerto Rican Devious Maids actress was supposed to be the co-host for the event.
I was very excited and proud to have been invited to participate in Miss USA, but as a Latina, that is now inconceivable. Although I am not Mexican, I am Puerto Rican and a proud Latina, and his comments were an insult to our culture. I won’t sponsor anything produced by Donald Trump.
Cristián de la Fuente, Sanchez’ Devious Maids fellow castmember, was also supposed to co-host with Sanchez on the Spanish-language presentation of the contest, but has also bowed out.
Lupita Jones, a former Miss Universe who was the first Mexican contestant to win, told Mexican radio station Radio Formula that she has personally reached out with Miss Universe pageant president Paula Shugart and was assured that the Mexico’s canddiate wouldn’t be treated unfairly. Still, Jones said that she felt, according to NBC Los Angeles, “disrespected as both a Mexican and a woman.”
Univision, the world’s largest Spanish-language network, has stated that they won’t air the pageant. The network’s release states:
Today, the entertainment division of Univision Communications Inc. announced that it is ending the Company’s business relationship with the Miss Universe Organization, which is part-owned by Donald J. Trump, based on his recent, insulting remarks about Mexican immigrants. At Univision, 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.
Univision News and the local news division will continue to provide comprehensive coverage of all candidates, including Mr. Trump, to ensure our audience continues to have access to all points of view.
After this, NBC has began the distancing process from Trump’s comments. “Donald Trump’s opinions do not represent those of NBC, and we do not agree with is positions on a number of issues, including his recent coments on immigration,” NBC said.
Trump, of course, fired back. You can read what he said at Deadline (click the “NBC said” link), because I don’t feel like reposting it, since the comments only illuminate Trump’s meatheadedness. In the comments, though, Trump says that he’s now suing Univision based on contract agreements.
If Trump should be doing anything, it should be realizing that 1) Latinos have to vote for him, so he should attempt at being more of a humanist and not have an us-against-them mentality and 2) his comments can affect his business and his bottom line—as a businessman, I’m surprised it seems like he doesn’t know this or that it’s never affected him before.
What do you think about this news? Give your opinions in the comments section below!
EDIT: Donald Trump has been fired from NBC!
Julian 