:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46614098/GettyImages-477326252.0.0.0.jpg)
Donald Trump made comments about Mexican people last week that were so offensive they prompted Univision to end its relationship with his Miss Universe organization.
That means the mostly Spanish-language network will cancel its broadcast of the Miss USA pageant, which is run by Miss Universe (a joint venture between Trump and NBC Universal) and was scheduled to air July 12.
Trump has responded to Univision's decision by declaring "I love Mexican people" and blaming the Mexican government for the cancellation.
Trump on Mexican people: "They're rapists."
In remarks about immigration last week, Trump, who's now a Republican presidential candidate, said Mexican people are "bringing drugs" and "bringing crime" to America, and "they're rapists."
In a statement about the cancellation Thursday, Univision Communications blamed the cancellation entirely on Trump's "insulting remarks about Mexican immigrants" and said it wouldn't participate in any future projects tied to Trump:
Today, the entertainment division of Univision Communications Inc. announced that it is ending the Company's business relationship with the Miss Universe Organization, which is part-owned by Donald J. Trump, based on his recent, insulting remarks about Mexican immigrants. At Univision, we see first-hand the work ethic, love for family, strong religious values and the important role Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans have had and will continue to have in building the future of our country. We will not be airing the Miss USA pageant on July 12th or working on any other projects tied to the Trump Organization.
Univision News and the local news division will continue to provide comprehensive coverage of all candidates, including Mr. Trump, to ensure our audience continues to have access to all points of view.
Trump's bizarre response
On Fox News's The Real Story Thursday, Trump said, "Of course I'm standing by the statement." He added, "I love Mexico, I love the Mexican people."
He released a response that ignored Univision's reaction to his comments about Mexicans as insulting, and instead accused the Mexican government of pressuring the network to break its contract with him:
The Mexican government and others are putting tremendous pressure on Univision to break their signed and fully effective contract with the Miss Universe Organization because Mr. Trump has been exposing to the public, and the world, the significant damage that is being done at the southern border, and the terrible and costly trade deals that the United States is incompetently making with Mexico.
Trump then reinforced his take on the events in a tweet:
Mexican gov doesn't want me talking about terrible border situation & horrible trade deals. Forcing Univision to get me to stop- no way!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2015
