White House senior adviser and daughter of President Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, is receiving backlash for expressing her support for Goya Foods, and the White House is coming to her defense.
Trump posted a photo of herself posing with one of the brand’s products on Twitter on Tuesday.
She wrote the company’s slogan in both English and Spanish., “If it’s Goya, it has to be good. Si es Goya, tiene que ser bueno.”
If it’s Goya, it has to be good.
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) July 15, 2020
Si es Goya, tiene que ser bueno. pic.twitter.com/9tjVrfmo9z
White House specialty media director Carolina Hurley released a statement placing blame on the media and cancel culture for the criticism Trump received.
“Only the media and the cancel culture movement would criticize Ivanka for showing her personal support for a company that has been unfairly mocked, boycotted and ridiculed for supporting this administration – one that has consistently fought for and delivered for the Hispanic community,” Hurley said.
She added, “Ivanka is proud of this strong, Hispanic-owned business with deep roots in the U.S. and has every right to express her personal support.”
President Trump took to Twitter early on Wednesday to argue the brand is doing well amid the controversy.
“[Goya Foods] is doing GREAT. The Radical Left smear machine backfired, people are buying like crazy!” Trump said.
.@GoyaFoods is doing GREAT. The Radical Left smear machine backfired, people are buying like crazy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 15, 2020
In a little over four hours, Ivanka Trump’s tweet raked in over 35,000 retweets and 62,000 likes, as IJR previously reported.
Trump’s public support of the product could potentially violate government ethics rules prohibiting the use of public office to endorse certain products or even advance personal business gains.
Chief executive of the company, Robert Unanue, appeared with the president at the White House last week showing his support for the administration.
“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,” Unanue said.
