NBC says ‘You’re fired’ to Donald Trump
The network will no longer show the annual Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, which had been a joint venture with The Apprentice host. Miss USA has been on NBC since 2003 and this year’s edition was set for July 12. “At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values,” NBC said in a statement.
However, Trump said a “weak” NBC might have to see him in court. During his presidential kick-off speech, Trump said Mexican immigrants were “bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists and some, I assume, are good people”.
He also called for a wall to be built along the southern border of the US. Trump later said that his remarks were directed at US policymakers, not the Mexican government or its people.
Mexican media giant Televisa said it would no longer show the Miss Universe pageant or do business with Trump on any other communication project.
Televisa, one of the largest TV groups in the hemisphere, said his “disrespectful” remarks offended the Mexican people. The company said it “strongly rejects all forms of discrimination, racism and xenophobia”.
NBC’s action comes less than a week after Univision similarly ditched Trump and the pageants.
Trump had also been a fixture on NBC as host of The Apprentice, and its celebrity offshoot, but an agreement that he would no longer be on that show pre-dated the current controversy.
He said he anticipated losing the business relationship and was not apologising for his statements, because they “were correct”.
“Whatever they want to do is OK with me,” he said, after a campaign speech before the City Club of Chicago, comprised of civic and community leaders.
However, in a statement issued by his company in New York, he said: “NBC is weak, and like everybody else is trying to be politically correct. That is why our country is in serious trouble.”
Trump said that he would consider suing NBC, as he planned to do with Univision.
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