Trumps back Goya Foods amid boycott campaign

WASHINGTON • US President Donald Trump and his daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump are rallying support for Goya Foods on Twitter, as social media pressure continues for boycotting the largest Hispanic-owned US food company over its chief executive's effusive praise for Mr Trump.

Early on Wednesday, the Republican President tweeted, without citing evidence, that "Goya Foods is doing great".

"The radical left smear machine backfired, people are buying like crazy!" he added on his personal feed, which has 83.4 million followers, and the official presidential and White House feeds, with more than 50 million followers combined.

That followed Ms Trump's late Tuesday post on Twitter of the company's slogan, "If it's Goya, it has to be good", in both Spanish and English.

Ms Trump's tweet, in which she is seen holding a can of Goya's black beans, garnered over 35,000 retweets and 62,000 likes in a little over four hours.

However, her comments could violate government ethics rules that prohibit the use of public office to endorse products or advance personal business gains.

The US Office of Government Ethics did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

The hashtags #Goyaway and #BoycottGoya trended on Twitter after Mr Robert Unanue, CEO of the New Jersey-based company, appeared with Mr Trump at the White House last week for the creation of an advisory panel on spurring Hispanic prosperity.

"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," said Mr Unanue, the third generation of his family to run the business.

The comment alienated many Goya consumers, who consider Mr Trump racist against Hispanic people because of his immigration policies, his calling Mexicans "rapists" during his 2016 presidential campaign, and his reportedly calling El Salvador a "s**thole country" at a 2018 White House meeting.

REUTERS