Advertisement

Donald Trump poses with Goya beans hours after daughter Ivanka prompted fury by endorsing brand

Donald Trump shared a picture of himself posing with Goya products in the Oval Office on Wednesday: White House
Donald Trump shared a picture of himself posing with Goya products in the Oval Office on Wednesday: White House

President Donald Trump shared a picture of himself posing with Goya's products, hours after his daughter received backlash for endorsing the same brand on social media.

Mr Trump smiled with his thumbs up as he posed with Goya beans, seasoning mix, coconut milk and chocolate wafers, which were spread out in front of him on the Resolute desk in the Oval Office.

The picture, posted on his official Instagram page on Wednesday, came after Ivanka Trump became embroiled in an endorsement row after she shared a similar image, showing her holding a can of Goya beans.

The Trumps' endorsement of the Hispanic-owned brand comes after the Goya CEO Robert Unanue praised the US President at an event in the White House last week.

"We're all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like President Trump, who is a builder," said Mr Unanue.

The CEO's comments sparked outrage, particularly from members of the Hispanic community which is said to be the target audience of Goya's product, and prompted calls for a consumer boycott.

The hashtags #BoycottGoya, #GoyaFoods and #Goyaway were used across social media with Democrats Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda among those to criticise Goya.

Mr Unanue refused to apologise for his comments and said the boycott was a "suppression of speech".

Last week, Mr Trump defended the Goya CEO on Twitter by saying: "@GoyaFoods is doing GREAT. The Radical Left smear machine backfired, people are buying like crazy!”

The President's eldest daughter had shared the image of herself smiling and holding a can of Goya beans on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram on Tuesday, with a caption that read, “If it’s Goya, it has to be good,” in English and Spanish.

Social media users criticised the move and accused her of adopting a "political stance" to attract members of the Hispanic community.

She was also accused of violating ethical standards. Government employees are not meant to endorse any products and Ms Trump works as the White House advisor.

The Department of Justice states on its website: "An employee may not use his public office for his own private gain or for that of persons or organisations with which he is associated personally.

Robert Unanue, CEO of Goya Foods visited the White House on July 9 (REUTERS)
Robert Unanue, CEO of Goya Foods visited the White House on July 9 (REUTERS)

"An employee's position or title should not be used to coerce; to endorse any product, service or enterprise; or to give the appearance of governmental sanction."

But White House spokeswoman Carolina Hurley said in a statement to CNN that Ms Trump was showing "personal support" for Goya and criticism of her in the media was part of the "cancel culture movement".

Ms Hurley said: "Ivanka is proud of this strong, Hispanic-owned business with deep roots in the US and has every right to express her personal support."

The former director of the Office of Government Ethics, Walter Shaub disagreed and explained in a series of posts of Twitter how he believes the tweet is an ethics violation.

"Under these circumstances, if you're a top presidential adviser in the president's inner circle, there's a strong appearance that you're endorsing a product in your official capacity," said Mr Shaub.

"It would be disingenuous for anyone to argue that you weren't making an official endorsement."

Read more

Ivanka Trump's tweet of Goya beans sparks backlash

Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK