Macy’s to Trump: You’re fired

New York – Macy’s Inc. has dumped The Donald.

The department store giant is pulling the plug on its long-time business relationship with Donald Trump in the wake of comments the billionaire real estate developer and 2016 Republican presidential primary candidate made about Mexican immigrants. Macy’s is following the lead of media companies including Univision and NBC which have cut professional ties with Trump since he made the remarks during a public announcement of his presidential run on June 16.



Macy’s has sold branded Trump menswear since 2004, and Trump has also appeared in Macy’s TV commercials over the years. In a statement, the retailer explained its decision.



"We are disappointed and distressed by (Trump’s) recent remarks about immigrants from Mexico,” said the statement. “We do not believe the disparaging characterizations portray an accurate picture of the many Mexicans, Mexican Americans and Latinos who have made so many valuable contributions to the success of our nation. In light of statements made by Donald Trump, which are inconsistent with Macy's values, we have decided to discontinue our business relationship with Mr. Trump and will phase-out the Trump menswear collection, which has been sold at Macy's since 2004."



The controversy surrounding Trump’s remarks put Macy’s in an awkward position. The retailer has been making an increased effort to engage Hispanic consumers in recent years, including tailoring assortments of stores located in areas with a heavy Latino population.



In a public statement issued in reply to Macy’s announcement, Trump claimed he actually ended his relationship with Macy’s.



“Both Macy's and NBC totally caved at the first sight of potential difficulty with special interest groups who are nothing more than professional agitators, who are not looking out for the people they purport to represent, but only for themselves,” said the statement from Trump. “It is people like this that are actually running our country because our leaders are weak and ineffective.”



In addition, at least two tweets directly encouraging consumer boycotts of Macy’s have been posted on the official Donald J. Trump Twitter account since news of their relationship with Trump ending became public.



“Those who believe in tight border security, stopping illegal immigration & SMART trade deals w/other countries should boycott @Macys,” read one of the tweets.