Real estate tycoon and reality television star Donald Trump has once again found himself in the middle of controversy this week. More than 450,000 people have signed a petition for Macy’s to cut ties with Trump, after he reportedly appeared in an upcoming commercial for the company.
The petition is hosted by SignOn.org, a spin-off of MoveOn.org, and it lists a variety of reasons behind the protest, including accusations of Trump of being sexist, racist, and a denier of climate change science. It also says that Trump does not live up to the “socially responsible” values Macy’s boasts about.
“The list goes on, but the point remains, Macy’s should dump Trump,” the petition says.
Although the petition’s intro doesn’t mention it, The New York Times reported that the effort was sparked after Macy’s shot a commercial with Trump. In it Trump doesn’t believe Santa Claus is the real Kris Kringle and tugs his beard to be sure—it’s a knock at Trump’s belief that President Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States.
By late Tuesday evening, the petition had gained more than 452,000 and the hashtag #DumpTrump was gaining popularity on Twitter. Hundreds of people were passing around the link to the petition in hopes of getting the department store to change its mind about its relationship with Trump. According to the petition, Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren recently sent a letter to Trump noting that the company planned on expanding line of Trump-related products (shirts and ties) and the brand in general. It’s a promise that wasn’t sitting well with some people.
“Please, let’s get Trump off the air and out of the public consciousness. He isn’t a valid spokesperson for anyone,” wrote James Eason.
How Macy’s will respond remains to be seen, but with the petition gaining thousands of new signatures every hour as of Tuesday night, a response of some kind seems inevitable.
“If Trump’s in, I’m out,” wrote Pat Kennedy of Santa Paula, Calif. “Lots of other places to shop.”
Photo via Donald Trump/YouTube
