Macy's is the latest to cut ties with Donald Trump

WASHINGTON — Macy's said Wednesday that the Trump menswear collection — and the man behind the brand — are no longer a good fit for its stores.

In a statement, the retailer denounced recent derogatory comments about Mexican immigrants made by real estate mogul and GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, saying that they have "no tolerance for discrimination in any form.

"We welcome all customers, and respect for the dignity of all people is a cornerstone of our culture," the Cincinnati-based company said in a statement. "We are disappointed and distressed by recent remarks about immigrants from Mexico. ... In light of statements made by Donald Trump, we have decided to discontinue our business relationship."

Trump's menswear collection, which includes ties, shirts, suits and accessories, has been sold at Macy's since 2004.

Macy's is the latest company to distance itself from Trump, who's hoping to win the Republican presidential nomination. NBC and Univision have already cut ties following the comments he made during his presidential announcement speech on June 16, in which he said people coming into the United States from Mexico "are bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."

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Following Macy's announcement, Trump fired back at both the retailer and NBC in a statement released on his Instagram account, stating that he was the one who decided to cut ties with Macy's, and on Twitter.

"Clearly, NBC and Macy's support illegal immigration, which is totally detrimental to the fabric of our one great country," Trump's statement said. "Both Macy's and NBC totally caved at the first sight of potential difficulty with professional agitators, who are not looking out for the people they purport to represent, but only for themselves."

Later, Trump tweeted a reminder that Macy's last year paid a $650,000 New York state fine to settle complaints (including from a Treme cast member) that store staffers racially profiled shoppers accused of stealing.

Trump overlooked the possibility the embarrassing fine might give Macy's a stronger reason not to be associated with Trump's rhetoric about Mexicans.

And in other Trump trouble, his hotel organization confirmed to USA TODAY Wednesday that it is in the midst of an investigation concerning "potential suspicious credit card activity."

Trump's statement on the end of his relationship with Macy's echoes his claims that he chose to quit from NBC before they had even fired him, according to The Wrap.

"They wanted me to do The Apprentice," said Trump. "And now with my statements on immigration, which happen to be correct, they are going to take a different stance and that's OK."

"As far as ending the relationship, I have to do that because my view on immigration is much different than people at NBC."

NBC announced on Monday that it would no longer air Trump's Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants and would remove him as host of the reality show The Apprentice.

"Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBCUniversal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump," the statement said.

The move came after Univision announced last week that it would no longer air Spanish-language versions of his pageants, and Mexico separately announced it would no longer send a contestant to the Miss Universe contest.

And on Tuesday, Miss USA co-host Cheryl Burke announced she was ending her relationship with Trump.

"I cannot in good conscience move forward with participating in this year's Miss USA Pageant as its co-host," Burke told USA TODAY.

On Wednesday, more signs of damage to Trump's myriad business interests appeared as musicians lined up to dump Trump.

Singer Ricky Martin added to his criticism last week of Trump's remarks by hitting the Donald where it really hurts: In his golf-course empire.

Martin has cancelled plans to host his annual Ricky Martin Foundation charity golf tournament (supporting efforts to end child trafficking) at the Trump International Golf Club Rio Grande in Puerto Rico, in an act of "solidarity for basic human rights and in support of the Latin-American community," according to a statement issued from his Puerto Rico office . Instead, the tournament will take place at the nearby Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Beach Resort on August 21.

Meanwhile, reps for Flo Rida said the rapper will no longer perform at the Miss USA pageant in Baton Rouge later this month. He was followed out the pageant's door by Country singer Craig Wayne Boyd (winner of The Voice last year) and pop singer Natalie La Rose, who also pulled out. No other performers for Miss USA had been announced.

Shakira, too, condemned Trump via Twitter. "This is a hateful and racist speech that attempts to divide a country that for years has promoted diversity and democracy!" she wrote, linking to a video of Trump's presidential announcement speech. "No one living in this century should stand behind so much ignorance."

Adding on to Trump's woes, Ora TV, a television company backed by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, said it was cancelling a project in development with Trump.

And this could only be the beginning, according to Larry Chiagouris, a marketing professor at Pace University's Lubin School of Business.

"We are witnessing a jumping on the bandwagon by others who do not want to appear out of step with the trend to put distance between themselves and Donald Trump," Chiagouris says.

Contributing: Andrea G. Mitchell, Trisha Thadani