WASHINGTON (AP) – Celebrity chef Jose Andres is backing out of a plan to open a flagship restaurant in Donald Trump’s new hotel under construction in Washington.
Andres issued a statement Wednesday citing Trump’s statements “disparaging immigrants” in his decision to cancel plans for an eatery at the Trump International Hotel. Andres is a Spanish immigrant and recently became a U.S. citizen.
Real estate mogul and Republican presidential candidate Trump said in a campaign speech June 16 that some Mexican immigrants bring drugs and crime to the U.S., and some are rapists. He’s been criticized but hasn’t apologized. A host of organizations are severing or re-examining relationships with Trump.
Andres says Trump’s statements “make it impossible for my company and I to move forward.” Andres says more than half of his team and many of his guests are Hispanic.