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- Goya Foods CEO: Trump is “the legitimate and the still actual president of the United States.”
- CNN reported the executive praised Trump during the Conservative Political Action Conference.
- Goya’s board voted to bar the CEO from talking to the media earlier this year.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
The CEO of Goya Foods said Donald Trump is the “actual” US president nearly six weeks after President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Goya Foods CEO Robert Unanue spread conspiracy theories about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election during the Conservative Political Action Conference on Sunday, per CNN.
“My biggest honor today is gonna be that – I think we’re gonna be on the same stage – as, in my opinion, the real, the legitimate, and the still actual president of the United States, Donald J. Trump,” Unanue said on the conference stage in Orlando, Florida.
Trump lost the election to Biden after losing both the popular vote and the electoral college. Elections experts and international observers found no evidence of election fraud.
CNN reported Unanue spread other lies, including stating Trump received the majority of the votes and that the election was “not legitimate.”
The Goya Foods nine-person board voted to bar Unanue from speaking to media without company permission after the CEO baselessly called the election "unverified" in a January interview with Fox Business.
Unanue comments in support of Trump in 2020 led to backlash and boycott threats on social media. In July, Unanue said, "We are all truly blessed, at the same time, to have a leader like President Trump, who is a builder," at a White House event.
Goya Foods calls itself the largest Hispanic-owned food producer. Latino politicians including Rep. Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez and presidential candidate Julián Castro criticized Unanue's comments, reminding their social media followers of Trump's insults towards Mexican immigrants and other Hispanic groups.
"Bob Unanue, is praising a president who villainized and maliciously attacks Latinos for political gain," Castro said on Twitter. "Americans should think twice before buying their products."
Unanue's grandfather founded Goya in 1936. After taking over as the company's chief executive in 2004, Robert expanded the brand's availability in regions with growing Latino populations like Florida.
"We're nimble because we're family operated and we can make decisions quickly," Unanue told Hispanic Executive in 2017. "We know who is coming, where they are coming from, and what products will allow us to make a connection with them. It works because we have the infrastructure, quality, and authenticity."
Goya Foods did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.