NBC Universal announced Monday via a press release that the network would be ending its business relationship with Donald Trump because of his “derogatory statements” about Mexicans in his presidential announcement speech.
“At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values. Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBCUniversal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump,” the network said in a statement.
“To that end, the annual Miss USA and Miss Universe Pageants, which are part of a joint venture between NBC and Trump, will no longer air on NBC. In addition, as Mr. Trump has already indicated, he will not be participating in ‘The Apprentice’ on NBC. ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ is licensed from Mark Burnett’s United Artists Media Group and that relationship will continue,” the release continued.
NBC’s decision to sever ties with Trump comes just days after Univision said it would not televise the Miss USA pageant because of his statements.
During his remarks announcing his candidacy, Trump said on the topic of immigration, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. 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.”
Trump reacted to NBC’s decision at a news conference in Chicago, Illinois, according to Mediaite, claiming that the network was “not happy” that he was running for president.
“I’ve had a great relationship with them,” Trump said of NBC. “They didn’t want me to run because they wanted to do The Apprentice. … As long as I’m running for president, they were not happy with it.”
“Now, with my statements on immigration — which happen to be correct — they are going to take a different stance, and that’s okay,” Trump continued. “Whatever they want to do is okay with me.”
According to CNN, Trump also took a decidedly harsher tone and threatened to sue both Univision and NBC.
Trump on NBC ending business relationship: I’ll be suing Univision…maybe I’ll be suing NBC too.
— Athena Jones (@AthenaCNN) June 29, 2015
Trump delivered remarks at the City Club of Chicago Monday, an event that was allegedly “sold out in minutes.”
