It must have gotten under Donald Trump’s skin.
But no sooner had Macy’s (M) stock risen 3% on a better than expected set of holiday quarter financial results, did the Republican presidential candidate slam his former business partner on the campaign trail, saying the department store didn’t have America’s best interests at heart and renewing his call to boycott.
The contretemps started last summer, when Macy’s said it would phase out its Donald Trump line of menswear as a result of Trump’s derogatory comments about Mexican immigrants. Macy’s, which has been wooing Hispanic shoppers for years, said it stood for diversity and that Trump’s comments were inconsistent with that philosophy.
Trump responded to that by accusing Macy’s of supporting illegal immigration. The real estate executive and former reality TV personality took pleasure in several of Macy’s poor quarterly results since then.
And on Tuesday, as he campaigned in Nevada, he took new shots at Macy’s, which reported a 2.5% drop in comparable sales for 2015. A Macy’s spokesman declined to comment on Trump’s latest comments about the company.
John Harwood, chief Washington correspondent for CNBC, was there and tweeted the following:
Trump: "Don't shop at Macy's. very disloyal"
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) February 23, 2016
Trump on Macy's: "They don't have the best interests of our country in mind"
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) February 23, 2016
Macy’s started selling Trump’s menswear line — including $70 dress shirts, $65 ties, and cuff links and watches — in 2004. Trump has also appeared in Macy’s commercials.
On Tuesday, he slagged the very same merchandise that bore his name, dismissing it as made in China, a country he has accused of running circles around the United States on trade policy.