By Ruth Ferguson, NDG Editor
Many voters – who also happen to shop during the critical holiday season – are fed up with Donald Trump and they are calling for Macy’s to look him in the eye and say “Donald, you’re fired!” There are many who feel like Trump’s comments via Twitter suggesting Americans protest the re-election of President Barack Obama crossed the line. It has led to an online petition which as of this morning has nearly 610,000 signatures.
As the all important Christmas shopping season kicks off with Black Friday sales, can Macy’s really afford this distraction. There are suggestions on the Internet that if they continue to stand by Trump, protestors may cause a distraction at the Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade or begin protesting outside of stores across the country.
Bloomberg Businessweek reported yesterday:
The petition statement read: “Macy’s: Donald Trump does not reflect the ‘magic of Macy’s.’ We urge you to sever ties with him. Macy’s says it has a strong obligation to be ‘socially responsible’ and that ‘actions speak louder than words.’ Indeed. It’s time to act.”
Last week, Trump, 66, on Twitter called the Obama re- election a travesty, a total sham and a disgusting injustice. He also urged Americans to march on Washington.
Despite this public uproar Macy’s announced late yesterday that they are sticking with Donald Trump.
“Macy’s marketing and merchandise offerings are not representative of any political position. Many of the individuals associated with products sold at Macy’s — or at any retailer, for that matter — express personal opinions that are not related to the merchandise we sell or to the philosophies of our company.”
However, it is important to keep in mind that the individual who launched this online petition is Angelo Carusone and he is credited with the successful StopBeck campaign, which led to so many advertisers pulling their support from Glenn Beck’s FOX news network show that the plug was pulled. Carusone’s campaign against Beck was not immediately successful, but eventually it worked because advertisers try to avoid taking sides but after awhile shoppers begin to vote with their wallets and they cannot afford the lost revenue or PR black eye. Beck now lives in the Dallas, Texas area.
Backstory on Donald Trump’s attacks launched at President Obama for over a year: Over the last 18 months Donald Trump has thrown out many crazy ideas or comments about President Barack Obama. Last year he was on the birther bandwagon, suggesting the President was not born in America and therefore not constitutionally eligible to serve as President of the United States. It all seem to die down when President Obama essentially made him look foolish at the annual White House Correspondent’s Dinner in May 2011. After that talk of Trump running for president quietly went away.
But during the final weeks of the 2012 election Trump thrust himself back into the limelight. First, he teased the press for days with the promise of an upcoming announcement that could significantly impact President Obama’s re-election efforts. When he finally released his “big news” it was a video of himself challenging President Obama to release his college records and applications from Harvard University Law School and his passport application. One of the many theories of Trump is that these records would show that not only was President Obama not born in the United States, but that he was not a very good student as well as show whether he was born in the United States or not.
Trump pledged to donate $5 million to a charity of President Obama’s choice within an hour of the full release of these records. While President Obama never appeared to acknowledge Trump’s request. Dallas Maverick’s owner Mark Cuban did – via Twitter the two billionaires bickered with the subject being put to rest when Cuban suggested Trump $1 million to the rebuilding efforts for the victims of Superstorm Sandy but instead of responding to the challenge, Trump merely tweeted insults to Mark Cuban.
To sign the petition on requesting Macy’s dump Donald Trump visit SignOn.org.
