Macy’s the latest firm to sever ties with Donald Trump after Mexico remarks

The billionaire drew criticism after a June 16 speech announcing a run for president.

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Macy’s, the largest department-store chain in the US, is cutting ties with Donald Trump after his remarks about Mexican immigrants being criminals and rapists caused an uproar.

The company said on Wednesday that it will phase out its Trump menswear collection, saying it has “no tolerance for discrimination in any form”. Macy’s has sold the line, which features $70 shirts and $65 ties, since 2004. The Cincinnati-based company also has featured Trump in its TV commercials.

Macy’s decision to drop Mr Trump follows a similar move by NBC earlier this week. The billionaire drew criticism after a June 16 speech announcing a run for president, when he said Mexicans bring drugs and crime into the US and called immigrants “rapists”.

“We are disappointed and distressed by recent remarks about immigrants from Mexico,” Macy’s said in a statement. “We do not believe the disparaging characterisations 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.”

In response, Mr Trump said it was his decision to split from Macy’s. He said in a statement on Instagram that he ended the relationship because pressure was being put on Macy’s from “outside sources”. He also said he was never comfortable with that fact that his shirts and ties were made in China.

“While selling Trump ties and shirts at Macy’s is a small business in terms of dollar volume, my principles are far more important and therefore much more valuable,” he said.

Mr Trump’s comments about Mexicans prompted NBC to stop airing his annual Miss USA and Miss Universe Pageants. Last week, Univision Communications also cancelled its telecast of the July Miss USA pageant, citing the remarks.

A petition to get Macy’s to drop Mr Trump had gathered more than 728,000 signatures on the MoveOn.org site.

“I’m really happy,” said the creator of the petition, Media Matters executive Angelo Carusone. “Donald Trump’s brand is bigoted bullying. It’s inconsistent with the Macy’s brand, and it’s proven to be bad for business.”

Mr Trump said in his statement that he’s “not beholden to anyone,” including NBC and Macy’s.

“Clearly, NBC and Macy’s support illegal immigration, which is totally detrimental to the fabric of our once great country,” he said. “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.”

Mr Trump said he would insist any future product partnerships are produced domestically.

“Quite frankly, I was never satisfied with manufacturing my product in China, but because of what they’ve done in terms of devaluing their currency, it is very hard for other companies to compete and make such apparel in the United States,” he said.

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