Goya’s CEO said the U.S. is ‘truly blessed’ with President Trump. Latinos are now boycotting. - The Washington Post

As Goya Foods CEO Robert Unanue stood beside President Trump in the Rose Garden Thursday afternoon, the head of a corporation that bills itself as America’s largest Hispanic-owned food company remembered his grandfather.

The Spanish immigrant and Trump have something in common, Unanue said.

“We’re all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like President Trump who is a builder, and that’s what my grandfather did,” the executive said.

But what were intended to be celebratory comments marking Trump’s signing of an executive order that pledges to improve Hispanic Americans’ access to educational and economic opportunities instead fueled a firestorm of backlash targeting Unanue and Goya that culminated in widespread calls to boycott the popular brand.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and former presidential candidate Julián Castro, criticized Unanue — a third-generation Spanish American — for praising Trump.

“Now their CEO, Bob Unanue, is praising a president who villainizes and maliciously attacks Latinos for political gain.”.

On Thursday, however, it was the company’s storied legacy that left a number of loyal consumers in disbelief over Unanue’s glowing comments about Trump, who has long been criticized for his anti-immigration rhetoric that many Latinos have said makes them feel “scared and worried” and “vulnerable,” The Post’s Rachel Hatzipanagos reported.

“It’s shameful and appalling that the president of Goya Foods is praising the most anti-Latino president in the history of our country,” Nathalie Rayes, the PAC’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

“We call for a boycott of Goya Foods products and anyone who stands with Donald Trump and against our community.”.

During Thursday’s White House event, for example, Unanue announced that Goya, along with other partners, would be donating a million cans of its chickpeas in addition to another million pounds of food in an effort to help relieve shortages caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.