White House blames ‘cancel culture’ for criticism of Ivanka Trump’s Goya tweet

The White House said Wednesday that Ivanka Trump was expressing her “personal support” for Goya Foods in a tweet posing with the company’s product, blaming the media and “cancel culture movement” for criticism she received over the social media post.

“Only the media and the cancel culture movement would criticize Ivanka for showing her personal support for a company that has been unfairly mocked, boycotted and ridiculed for supporting this administration – one that has consistently fought for and delivered for the Hispanic community,” White House specialty media director Carolina Hurley said in a statement.

“Ivanka is proud of this strong, Hispanic-owned business with deep roots in the U.S. and has every right to express her personal support,” added Hurley, who also serves as Ivanka Trump’s spokeswoman.

Ivanka Trump, a senior adviser to President Trump and his eldest daughter, posted a photo of herself posing with a can of Goya beans on her Twitter account late Tuesday. The post included the company’s slogan: “If it’s Goya, it has to be good. Si es Goya, tiene que ser bueno.” The message quickly drew criticism and charges that it violated ethics law.

Federal regulations prohibit government employees from using their public office “for the endorsement of any product, service or enterprise.”

If it’s Goya, it has to be good.
Si es Goya, tiene que ser bueno. pic.twitter.com/9tjVrfmo9z

— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) July 15, 2020

Ivanka Trump shared the image using her personal Twitter account, but her biography states that she is an adviser to the president and she regularly uses the account to promote her efforts serving as a White House official.

She expressed support for Goya amid backlash over company CEO Robert Unanue’s public praise of the president at a White House event last week when he said that the country is “blessed” to have Trump as a leader. Unanue’s remarks sparked a boycott of Goya, which is America’s largest Hispanic-owned food company.

Walter Shaub, former director of the Office of Government Ethics, tweeted that Ivanka’s decision to disclose her title on her personal account weighed against her and said the circumstances surrounding the tweet helped create a “strong appearance” that she was endorsing a product in her official capacity.

“Ms. Trump’s Goya tweet is clearly a violation of the government’s misuse of position regulation,” Shaub wrote. “Ms. Trump has had ethics training. She knows better. But she did it anyway because no one in this administration cares about government ethics.”