GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump is hitting back at Univision after the network announced earlier today it will not air his Miss Universe pageant over remarks he recently made about Hispanic immigrants.
The Hill reports Trump’s campaign accused the network of caving into pressure from Mexico.
“The Mexican government and others are putting tremendous pressure on Univision to break their signed and fully effective contract with the Miss Universe Organization,” Trump’s campaign says in a statement.
New York-based Univision is pulling the plug on its Spanish-language coverage of the pageant—which will air live on NBC from Baton Rouge on July 12—on its UniMas network. The Associated Press reports it also has severed its business relationship with the Miss Universe Organization, which produces the Miss USA pageant, due to what it called “insulting remarks about Mexican immigrants” by Trump, a part owner of Miss Universe.
“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,” Univision says in a statement posted on its website.
During his presidential campaign kickoff speech last week, Trump accused Latino immigrants of bringing drugs, crime and rapists to the U.S. He called for building a wall along the southern border of the U.S.
In an interview with the AP today, Trump said his criticism was directed against U.S. policymakers, not the Mexican people or government, adding that Univision would be defaulting on its contract if it doesn’t air the pageant and he would take legal action.
This year marks the second straight that the Miss USA Pageant is being held in Baton Rouge. The UniMas telecast would have been the first in a five-year contract with the pageant. Last year’s event took place before a sold-out Baton Rouge River Center crowd and was aired live on NBC. About 70 countries saw the broadcast, which included many flattering shots of the Capital City.
