Washington DC based celebrity chef Jose Andres is the latest name to pull out of business dealings with Donald Trump, following the real estate mogul and presidential hopefuls' offensive speech which took aim at illegal immigrants in the United States.
Andres was set to open a flagship restaurant in Trump's upcoming $200M hotel in the Old Post Pavillion Area of the nation's capital. However Trump's actions have forced him to reconsider the partnership. In recent days several big companies and organizations have cut ties with the under fire billionaire. These include: Macy's, NASCAR, NBC, and ESPN.
Andres released this official statement condemning Trump's actions:
Donald Trump's recent statements disparaging immigrants make it impossible for my company and I to move forward with opening a successful Spanish restaurant in Trump International's upcoming hotel in Washington, D.C.," the statement reads. "More than half of my team is Hispanic, as are many of our guests. And, as a proud Spanish immigrant and recently naturalized American citizen myself, I believe that every human being deserves respect, regardless of immigration status."
Trump's quickly organization fired back at Andres. Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. emailed the Washington Post with this comeback:
"Our relationship with José Andrés has always been a good one, but simply put, José has no right to terminate or otherwise abandon his obligations under the lease," Trump Jr. wrote. "In the event Mr. Andrés defaults in the performance of his obligations, we will not hesitate to take legal action to recover all unpaid rent for the entire 10 year term together with all attorneys' fees and additional damages we may sustain."
This fiasco started on June 16, when Trump gave a speech which bashed illegal immigrants:
They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists." He said of them.
