Jessica Flores, USA TODAY
Published 1:13 a.m. ET July 10, 2020
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President Donald Trump signs an executive order creating a new advisory commission tasked with improving Hispanic Americans’ access to economic and educational opportunities, a push that comes as he hopes to increase his share of the Latino vote. (July 9)
AP Domestic
The CEO of Goya Foods, which bills itself as the country’s largest Hispanic-owned food company, praised President Donald Trump during a visit to the White House on Thursday.
Social backlash followed.
The hashtags #Goyaway and #BoycottGoya soon began trending on Twitter, while some Latinos also expressed disappointment with the CEO’s praise for a president who they say continuously attacks Latinos.
“We’re all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like President Trump, who is a builder,” CEO Robert Unanue said during a speech after a roundtable with Trump and other Hispanic leaders.
.@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. #Goyawayhttps://t.co/lZDQlK6TcU
— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) July 9, 2020
Unanue is “praising a president who villainizes and maliciously attacks Latinos for political gain,” Julián Castro, who served as Housing and Urban Development secretary in the Obama administration, said on Twitter.
“Oh look, it’s the sound of me Googling ‘how to make your own Adobo,'” U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter, later sharing an alternative recipe to the Adobo seasoning, which is part of the Goya brand – a well-known Latino household item.
Oh look, it’s the sound of me Googling “how to make your own Adobo” https://t.co/YOScAcyAnC
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 10, 2020
United We Dream, an immigrant youth-led organization, said it won’t support “companies who endorse and comply with a White Supremacist regime.” They created a petition to boycott the company.
“We all know that Trump has not stopped attacks on immigrants, Latinx folks, Black people, and all people of color, since day 1. We must show CEO of Goya Foods Robert Unanue that we won’t stand for this! If Goya wants our business, they must respect and fight for our humanity!” the group said in a statement.
Trump hosted an event Thursday with Hispanic leaders, including Unanue. The president later signed an executive order on the White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative to “improve access by Hispanic Americans to educational and economic opportunities.”
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