Because the one thing Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was missing was a corporate PR disaster, NBC came through on Monday with an unsurprising proclamation. Unhappy with Trump’s incendiary (and offensive) remarks regarding immigrants from Mexico, NBC has announced it will be cutting all business ties with the presidential hopeful.
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It’s worth jumping back before we discuss the split, as reported by NBC News.
In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, which aired on Sunday, Donald Trump responded to the skeptics who believe he is running simply as an ego boost or a way to promote his personal brand by confessing he is giving up “hundreds of millions of dollars” by passing up on a new season of The Apprentice in 2015 in order to focus on his campaign.
“In all fairness — I don’t want it to sounds trivial — NBC renewed The Apprentice because we had a great season last season,” Trump told Tapper. “And they would love me not to be doing this, I will tell you right now. I mean the top people come to my office and they say, “Please do this,” but I’m not doing it because of this.”
24 hours later, we have a much different story.
“At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values,” NBC said in a statement. “Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBCUniversal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump.”
NBC will no longer air the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants on its network either, both of which were part of a joint venture with Trump. NBC will retain the rights to Celebrity Apprentice, but Trump will no longer be involved.
In a statement to reporters in Chicago, Trump seemed to be sticking to the story that he has been forced to terminate his relationship with NBC in order to focus on the campaign. “I think as far as ending the relationship, I have to do that because my view on immigration is much different than the people at NBC.”
UPDATE: Donald Trump has released an official statement, via Instagram, regarding the separation from NBC:
