A call to boycott Goya Foods trends on Twitter after Goya CEO Robert Unanue shares that the United States is "blessed" to have President Trump in the White House during this turmoil time. The remarks were made in the Rose Garden following a roundtable discussion between Trump and Hispanic leaders where President Donald Trump signed an executive order called the "White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative", which is an executive order to improve Hispanic Americans' access to educational and economic opportunities.
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Call to Boycott Goya Trends on Twitter
Goya is known as one of the largest Hispanic-owned American food companies and sells products such as Abodo seasoning, beans, chickpeas, grains, beverages, and frozen ingredients.
"We're all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like President Trump who is a builder, and that's what my grandfather did," the executive said during his Rose Garden speech. "He came to this country to build, to grow, to prosper. And so we have an incredible builder, and we pray for our leadership, our president, and we pray for our country that we will continue to prosper and to grow."
The backlash was immediate, and Unanue was quick to defend himself during an appearance on Fox News, saying the boycott of his company is a "suppression of speech." He also went on to say he praised President Obama in the past and did not receive backlash for that.
"You're allowed to talk good or to praise one president, but you're not allowed — when I was called to be part of this commission to aid in economic and educational prosperity and you make a positive comment, all of a sudden that's not acceptable," he said. "So I'm not apologizing. ... Especially if you're called by the president of the United States, you're going to say: 'No, I'm sorry. I'm busy, no thank you.' I didn't say that to the Obamas, and I didn't say that to President Trump."
Political Figures Speak Out
Political figures such as Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro and Congresswoman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter to share their distaste of the words Goya Foods CEO shared on Thursday.
.@GoyaFoods has been a staple of so many Latino households for generations.
Now their CEO, Bob Unanue, is praising a president who villainizes and maliciously attacks Latinos for political gain. Americans should think twice before buying their products. #Goyaway https://t.co/lZDQlK6TcU
— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) July 9, 2020
".@GoyaFoods has been a staple of so many Latino households for generations." Castro tweets, "Now their CEO, Bob Unanue, is praising a president who villainizes and maliciously attacks Latinos for political gain. Americans should think twice before buying their products. #Goyaway
This morning the brand shared a tweet, stating that the company is giving away 1 million cans of chickpeas and 1 million pounds of food to food banks in the United States to help families during the coronavirus pandemic.
