Goya’s CEO Support for Donald Trump Inspires a Boycott

After appearing at the White House Rose Garden on Thursday afternoon, Robert Unanue, CEO of Goya Foods, has faced widespread condemnation for his praise of President Donald Trump. "We are all truly blessed ... to have a leader like President Trump, who is a builder," Unanue said during his speech. "We have an incredible builder, and we pray. We pray for our leadership, our president."

Following Unanue's speech, #Goyaway started trending on Twitter and Latinx consumers and celebrities began calling for a boycott. "Oh look, it’s the sound of me Googling 'how to make your own Adobo,'" Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote. She then shared a recipe sent to her by a friend.

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Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro also spoke out against Unanue. "@GoyaFoods has been a staple of so many Latino households for generations," Castro wrote on Twitter. "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."

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Lin-Manuel Miranda, who otherwise has been having a good week thanks to the success of the Hamilton movie, joined in as well. "We learned to bake bread in this pandemic," he wrote. "We can learn to make our own adobo con pimienta. Bye."

Unanue was invited to the White House for the announcement of Trump's Hispanic Prosperity Initiative, an executive order aimed at improving access to educational and economic opportunities for Hispanic Americans. During his speech, Unanue announced that Goya would donate 1 million cans of chickpeas and 1 million other food products to American food banks to help families affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

In an interview with Fox News on Friday, Unanue said that he would not apologize for his remarks about Trump and called the backlash "suppression of speech."