Looks like Trump will be eating crow instead of Jose Andres' amazing food
Jose Andres is an award-winning chef who is originally born in Spain, but became a U.S. citizen in 2013 after decades of living in the United States. Time Magazine named him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012.
His new restaurant was to be a jewel of the new Trump hotel currently under construction in D.C., but Jose Andres says he's out:
“Donald Trump’s recent statements disparaging immigrants make it impossible for my company and I to move forward with opening a successful Spanish restaurant in Trump International’s upcoming hotel in Washington, D.C.,” the statement reads. “More than half of my team is Hispanic, as are many of our guests. And, as a proud Spanish immigrant and recently naturalized American citizen myself, I believe that every human being deserves respect, regardless of immigration status.”
Andres has long been an advocate for
immigration reform, penning this op-ed in 2013:
I understand that this is a difficult and complicated issue. But we are not asking for an open-door policy that allows unregulated immigration. Indeed, the bill before Congress would do more to secure our borders than any other law in history. What we’re asking is to give the 11 million undocumented immigrants who are already part of America’s DNA a chance — a chance to prove they are worthy of citizenship; a chance to contribute more to this incredible country; a chance to belong.
The fellow immigrants I’ve known and worked with over the years, those with legal status and those without, are here for the right reasons. They don’t want to cause any trouble, take any handouts or steal anyone’s job. Many already pay taxes and have jobs — tough, dirty, exhausting work that America depends on, such as picking our tomatoes, cleaning our fish or canning our products on cold factory floors for low wages and no benefits.
Team Trump's response?
We'll see you in court:
“Our relationship with José Andrés has always been a good one, but simply put, José has no right to terminate or otherwise abandon his obligations under the lease, ” Trump Jr. wrote. “In the event Mr. Andrés defaults in the performance of his obligations, we will not hesitate to take legal action to recover all unpaid rent for the entire 10 year term together with all attorneys’ fees and additional damages we may sustain. We will also enforce the exclusivity provisions preventing Mr. Andrés from opening a competing restaurant anywhere in the D.C area. Mr. Andrés’ obligations under the lease are clear and unambiguous. More importantly, construction is ahead of schedule at Trump International Hotel, Washington D.C. and when completed in 2016, will be a crown jewel within the Trump Hotel Collection.”
In true egotistical Trump fashion, he's still insisting
he'll win the Latino vote. Please proceed, Mr. Trump.