Trump Says ‘Buy Goya Foods’ After New Calls for Boycott

Former President Donald Trump addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference held in the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 28, 2021. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump encouraged Americans to buy Goya Foods products after the company faced new calls for a boycott over remarks made by its chief executive at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Florida over the weekend.

Goya Foods CEO Robert Unanue described Trump as “the actual president of the United States,” sparking a new wave of calls on social media to cancel the brand.

“This man is great—real courage. Buy Goya Foods. Thank you, Robert,” Trump wrote in marker over a printout of an article about the boycott calls.

Trump’s spokesman, Jason Miller, shared a photo of Trump’s note on Twitter.

When he appeared briefly on stage as a featured guest at the Reagan Dinner at CPAC on Feb. 27, Unanue received one of the most enthusiastic reactions from the attendees.

“It’s just an honor to be here. But my biggest honor today is going to be that I think we’re going to be on the same stage as, in my opinion, the real, legitimate, and the still actual president of the United States, Donald J. Trump,” Unanue said.

He added jokingly: “Sorry Twitter, I’ve already been canceled. You can’t do it again. No way.”

Robert Unanue, the CEO of Goya Foods, addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference held in the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 28, 2021. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Trump had expressed his support for Goya Foods when the company faced calls for a boycott in July 2020. At the time, the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, also showed her support by sharing a photo of herself holding a can of Goya’s black beans and tweeting the company’s slogan, “If it’s Goya, it has to be good.”

“Goya Foods is doing GREAT. The Radical Left smear machine backfired, people are buying like crazy!” Trump wrote on Twitter on July 15, 2020.

Unanue prompted that boycott over remarks he made at the White House, where he had appeared with Trump 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 Unanue, the third generation of his family to run the business.

In December 2020, Unanue jokingly named Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) as Goya’s employee of the month after her call for a boycott resulted in a sales increase.

Goya’s board of directors censured Unanue earlier this year for his comments about the 2020 election. The board wanted to remove Unanue, but was stymied only by the regulations of the family-owned business; it ended up prohibiting Unanue from speaking to the media about the company’s politics without permission from the board.