Fox & Friends host Jedediah Bila Condemned Ivanka Trump‘s cheeky Goya tweet on Wednesday morning. The TV pundit took to Twitter to say that she believed it was “unethical” for a government official to be promoting a food product while in office. To Bila, this rule should stand firm regardless of the Goya CEO’s controversial support for President Donald Trump.
“We can’t have people who work in administrations holding up products and promoting them. It’s unethical,” Bila tweeted early on Wednesday morning. “I don’t care if you love or hate the product or stand with or against the product in times of controversy. No official administration rep should be doing product promotion.”
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If itโs Goya, it has to be good.
โ Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) July 15, 2020
Si es Goya, tiene que ser bueno. pic.twitter.com/9tjVrfmo9z
The tweet followed Ivanka Trump’s post on Tuesday morning, where she held up a can of Goya black beans. “If it’s Goya, it has to be good,” she wrote, followed by the same phrase in Spanish.
Ivanka’s tweet was widely taken as a political statement more than a real product endorsement or an advertisement. Last week, Goya CEO Robert Unanue attended an event at the White House, openly praising the Trump administration and the president himself. “We’re all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like President Trump, who is a builder,” Unanue said.
Many people condemned Unanue and threatened to boycott Goya for this endorsement. It was seen as all the more shocking since Goya caters largely to non-White customers, with its Spanish labeling and “International food” aisle presence.
Senior advisor to the President endorsing a product – using the companyโs own advertising line. Ethics rules do not allow it – and pretty much unimaginable in previous administrations. https://t.co/j3GjFfS1Em
โ Chris Jansing (@ChrisJansing) July 15, 2020
Ivanka’s tweet featured Goya’s official slogan, according to a report by CBS News. She faced plenty of backlash for it outside of Bila’s response, as many people called for her to be investigated for promoting a private company as a government official.
Beyond that, Ivanka’s tweet became a center of ridicule in many circles, as viewers called her posture and expression “awkward” in the picture. To some, it looked like Ivanka was pinching the can of beans delicately as if trying to avoid touching them as much as possible.
So far, Unanue has not backed down in his vocal support for the president, saying he is “not apologizing.” He also reportedly called the boycott campaign an attempt at “suppression of speech.” Trump himself has also tweeted praise for Goya in the last few days. “[Goya Foods] is doing GREAT,” he tweeted on Wednesday morning. “The Radical Left smear machine backfired, people are buying like crazy!”