So, there are legal proceedings going on because a chef who was under contract to work at Donald Trump’s big new Trump International Hotel in Washington DC pulled out of the contract last year after he heard Trump’s anti-Mexican tirade during the speech he made announcing his candidacy.
They’re actually arguing over whether or not the chef, Geoffrey Zakarian, was justified in backing out based on the fact that Trump had called Mexicans a bunch of drug dealers and rapists, and there’s even some dispute about whether Trump eventually apologized or retracted his remarks or merely “clarified” or “articulated” them.
Of course, Trump never apologized. Instead he made some effort to distinguish between “illegals” who rape and sell drugs, and “legals” who do not necessarily do those things.
However, Ivanka and Donald Jr. were concerned about Zakarian’s hurt feelings and made some effort to soothe them. Ivanka wrote down some talking points for her father to use as a way of softening the blow, but not because it was creating a political liability. She did it because the family didn’t want to lose the services of a well-respected chef who they were planning to use as a marketing attraction.
It didn’t work. Trump issued a statement, but it didn’t satisfy Zakarian:
In July 2015, Trump did release a lengthy statement about Mexico, trade, and immigration.
During his deposition, Donald Trump Jr. appears to have been asked about that statement and whether he sent it to the chef, Geoffrey Zakarian.“When Mr. Zakarian wrote, ‘Thanks, but this is in no way an outright apology,’ does that reflect the fact that he had asked you whether your father was apologizing for those statements or would withdraw them?” Trump Jr. was asked.
“I don’t know,” Trump Jr. responded. “As I said, I don’t — I don’t know if he asked me if — you know, for an outright apology. You know, we sent him the statement to clarify what was actually said. And, you know, I followed up saying, Hey, why don’t we sit down tomorrow and see what we can talk about. And that’s when I read about it in the New York Times.”Asked whether he viewed the statement as an apology, Trump Jr. said, “I don’t know that I — it’s — I don’t know that it’s mine to say. But I don’t know that there’s anything to apologize for. It’s a political opinion. It had nothing to do with the lease.”
You can judge whether it was an apology for yourself.
“The largest suppliers of heroin, cocaine and other illicit drugs are Mexican cartels that arrange to have Mexican immigrants trying to cross the borders and smuggle in the drugs. The Border Patrol knows this,” Trump wrote. “Likewise, tremendous infectious disease is pouring across the border. The United States has become a dumping ground for Mexico and, in fact, for many other parts of the world.”
…In his statement on Monday, Trump argued his comments have been “deliberately distorted by the media.” He included a transcript of the relevant portion of his remarks for reference.
“I don’t see how there is any room for misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the statement I made on June 16th during my Presidential announcement speech,” Trump wrote, adding, “What can be simpler or more accurately stated? The Mexican Government is forcing their most unwanted people into the United States. They are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists, etc.”
Though some critics have characterized his comments as racist, but in his statement, Trump claimed he is not against the Mexican people.
“Many fabulous people come in from Mexico and our country is better for it. But these people are here legally, and are severely hurt by those coming in illegally,” wrote Trump. “I am proud to say that I know many hard working Mexicans—many of them are working for and with me…and, just like our country, my organization is better for it.”
It’s true that Mexican cartels are responsible for most of the heroin on our streets, as well as a lot of cocaine and methamphetamine. Obviously, part of their operations involves smugglers entering the country illegally. If Trump had limited his remarks to addressing that problem, no one would have accused him of being a racist. He did a lot more than that, though. He suggested that the Mexican government is “dumping” undesirable people into our country as official policy. He falsely asserted that Mexican illegal border crossers are bringing “tremendous infectious disease” with them and making Americans sick. And he failed to distinguish in any way whatsoever between the relative handful of cartel worker bees entering the country to engage in drug trafficking and the more than ten million people living in this country peacefully despite entering the country illegally. He called for deporting them all.
There’s no particular reason to rehash this all now except that it highlights something important about Trump and his family. The effort to clarify or soften the remarks was not made for political reasons. It was made strictly for business reasons. But even when told by his children that they were in jeopardy of losing their prized chef, Trump still couldn’t bring himself to do enough to rectify the situation.
Instead, he sued the chef. And then he sued José Andrés, a Latino chef who was supposed to open a restaurant at his DC hotel but reconsidered when he heard what Trump had to say about Mexicans.
So, we will eventually find out whether, once you’ve signed a contract, you have to work for someone who subsequently reveals themselves to be a virulent racist or face financial penalties for refusing to do so.
