Univision is ending its association with the Miss Universe Organization, which is part-owned by Donald Trump, in the wake of Trump’s remarks about Mexican immigrants. “They’re bringing drugs. They are bringing crime. They’re rapists,” Trump said June 16 as he launched his Republican presidential campaign. “At Univision, we see first-hand the work ethic, love for family, strong religious valuesand the important role Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans have had and will continue to have in building the future of our country,” said the company. “We will not be airing the Miss USA pageant on July 12th or working on any other projects tied to the Trump Organization.” Spanish-language coverage of the Miss USA pageant had been slated to air on UniMas.
Via Twitter, Trump responded by saying, among other things, “Univision wants to back out of signed @MissUniverse contract because I exposed the terrible trade deals that the U.S. makes with Mexico.” Trump’s special counsel, Michael Cohen, warned, “We intend to pursue all legal rights and remedies available to Mr. Trump pursuant to the terms of the license agreement as well as a defamation case against Univision.”