Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government In the midst of riots and general unrest throughout the nation’s cities last summer, Goya Foods CEO Robert Unanue reiterated his support for former President Donald Trump.
âWe’re all truly blessed … to have a leader, like President Trump, who is a builder,â he said in a July Rose Garden speech. âWe have an incredible builder, and we pray. We pray for our leadership, our president.”
Unanue’s remarks led to swift criticism from left-wing lawmakers such as New York Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, who implied she’d no longer consume Goya products, the country’s largest Hispanic-owned food company.
#BoycottGoya began trending on Twitter, with many Democrats demanding Unanue apologize.
Instead, Unanue reiterated his support and proclaimed AOC Goya Foods’s “employee of the month,” alleging her boycott boosted company sales by 1,000%.
Unanue remains a vocal supporter of Trump, most recently calling him the ” legitimate president” at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida.
Trader Joe’s
In July of last year, a petition authored by a California teenager circulated online calling on the grocery chain to remove racist branding and packaging,” which included the renaming of brands such as “Trader Ming’s,” “Arabian Joe'” and “Trader Jose.”
“The grocery chain labels some of its ethnic foods with modifications of ‘Joe’ that belies a narrative of exoticism that perpetuates harmful stereotypes,” the petition read.
Contrary to initial reports from outlets such as CNN that the company was in the process of changing the labels, a statement from Trader Joe’s sent a clear message: Virtually no one who shops at our stores cares about these names.
âA few weeks ago, an online petition was launched calling on us to âremove racist packaging from [our] products,ââ Trader Joeâs said in a statement. âFollowing were inaccurate reports that the petition prompted us to take action. We want to be clear: we disagree that any of these labels are racist. We do not make decisions based on petitions.â
Whole Foods
Despite its reputation as a coastal elite, Prius-driving liberal hot spot, the organic mega grocer has long been run by outspoken libertarian John Mackey.
A critic of universal healthcare, labor unions, and government-based policies to avert climate change, the Whole Foods CEO regularly shrugs off criticism from the political Left.
In a recent interview with the New Yorker, Mackey refused to take the bait when repeatedly asked about his so-called “eclectic views.”
“I like to keep my political beliefs, beliefs about controversial issues, to myself. I donât really want to talk about racism. I donât want to talk about climate change,” he said. “I donât want to talk about riots or fires. I want to talk about conscious leadership. Iâm happy to talk about what Whole Foods is doing in the world, but my personal beliefs are my own private beliefs.”
Forbes Magazine
Most critics of cancel culture tend to come from the Right, but in one instance, the roles were reversed.
In January, Forbes Media CEO and Chairman Steve Forbes defended his company’s decision to print a column from Forbes Chief Content Officer Randall Lane, arguing that corporations should blacklist former Trump administration officials such as Kellyanne Conway, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Kayleigh McEnany.
“Let it be known to the business world: Hire any of Trumpâs fellow fabulists above, and Forbes will assume that everything your company or firm talks about is a lie,” Lane wrote.
Forbes, a former Republican presidential candidate, maintained that his company believes everyone should be allowed to speak his or her mind and doesn’t endorse his colleague’s proposition.
“We’re not going to have blacklists and the like,” Forbes said. “People can express opinions. Unlike other organizations, we do have diverse opinions at Forbes and we value those diverse opinions and I think that shows strength, not weakness.”
Hyatt Hotels
Last month, the hotel chain hosted the youth-oriented Conservative Political Action Conference, which featured numerous right-wing speakers, including Trump and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Toward the end of the festivities, left-wing Twitter accounts blasted the company for hosting the event and called some participants anti-democratic white nationalists.
But Hyatt maintained its commitment to hosting conferences for all groups, saying it takes “pride in operating a highly inclusive environment.”
âWe believe in the right of individuals and organizations to peacefully express their views, independent of the degree to which the perspectives of those hosting meetings and events at our hotels align with ours,â a statement read. âOur own values support a culture that is characterized by empathy, respect and diversity of opinions and backgrounds, and we strive to bring this to light through what we do and how we engage with those in our care.â
Dissatisfied with that response, some activists alleged that the stage design where speakers addressed the crowd mirrored the Odal rune, a symbol used by the Nazi regime.
“We take the concern raised about the prospect of symbols of hate being included in the stage design at CPAC 2021 very seriously as all such symbols are abhorrent and unequivocally counter to our values as a company,” Hyatt wrote in a subsequent statement, adding that American Conservative Union organizers told the hotel chain that any resemblance to a symbol of hate was “unintentional.”
