Donald Trump is adding another layer to his feud with Univision, this time suing the company for $500 million over it’s decision to stop showing Trump’s Miss Universe pageant.
The Trump Organization’s statement argues that Univision’s contract requires them to air the pageant live in Spanish. It’s decision to pull out after Trump’s controversial comments about Mexicans was a “politically motivated attempt to suppress Mr. Trump’s freedom of speech under the First Amendment as he begins to campaign for the nation’s presidency.”
{mosads}The First Amendment only protects someone from government infringement on speech and does not deal with private disputes.
“As a consequence of their inappropriate actions, Univision and NBC have abandoned fifty one wonderful young women who have come from all over the United States to pursue their dream of being crowned Miss USA,” Trump says in a statement.
“NBC and Univision have wronged them.”
Trump’s statement is otherwise largely focused on immigration and America’s trade negotiations with Mexico. He argues that here’s a “high level of crime occurring in this country due to unchecked illegal immigration” and calls that a “major security issue.” He pans the American government for entering into “terrible trade deals” that cause “great financial harm to our country.”
“We are losing a huge number of jobs, manufacturing opportunities and money due to poorly negotiated trade deals, a fact that [is] undisputable.”
The episode is rooted in the backlash over Trump’s comments during his presidential announcement speech earlier this month. He called the U.S. the “dumping ground for everybody else’s problems” and said that immigrants coming to America from Mexico are not the “best” the country has.
“They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people,” Trump said.
Those comments were widely panned and prompted Univision and NBC to cut ties with him. But Trump has stuck to his previous comments and has continued to fan the flames of the feud, regularly issuing fiery statements on response to movements in the controversy.
He’s rocketed into the top echelon of national polling since his announcement, claiming second place in two New Hampshire polls and one national Fox News poll. But Republican strategists told The Hill that they expect his rise to be short-lived.
This story was updated at 5:42 p.m.