NBCUniversal Fires Donald Trump Over Remarks About Mexicans

NBCUniversal ended its relationship with real estate developer Donald Trump and his "Miss USA" and "Miss Universe" shows on Monday after he made derogatory comments about Mexicans when he began his run for president last week.

The pageants, which are part of a joint venture between NBC and Trump, would no longer air on NBC "due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants" the company said in a press release.

Trump was already not going to take part in "The Apprentice" on NBC, a show in which Trump uses his signature "You're Fired!" as he eliminates competitors. NBC said "Celebrity Apprentice" licensed from United Artists Media Group would continue.

Trump, in announcing on June 16 that he was seeking the Republican Party nomination for the November 2016 presidential election, described migrants from Mexico to the United States as drug-runners and rapists.

Trump's provocative comments, including a pledge to build a "great wall" on the border paid for by Mexico, were the latest in a series of swipes against the country.

Mexicans rich and poor, cabinet ministers and staunch critics of the government alike reacted angrily to Trump.

On Monday, when Trump spoke at the City Club in Chicago, a crowd of protesters, many of them Latinos, demonstrated outside, Chicago media reported. “Trump is a racist,” they shouted.

Trump spoke to a sold-out crowd of 350 people at the City Club. Hundreds more had tried to get tickets and were put on a wait list, the public policy forum said.

(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Writing by Grant McCool; Editing by Tom Brown)