By T. BECKET ADAMS (@BECKETADAMS) • 1/13/16 2:50 PM
NBCUniversal’s about-face last year on severing ties with GOP front-runner Donald Trump came after it realized the billionaire businessman’s 2016 presidential campaign had become a legitimate phenomenon, according to network executives.
“[T]he poll numbers are astounding, and he’s everywhere,” NBC’s entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt told reporters. “He’s on every news show, every morning show, every nightly show, every cable news show.”
NBCUniversal made a big show last summer of announcing that it had cut all business ties with Trump after he said Mexico was sending degenerate drug dealers and rapists to the United States.
“At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values,” a spokesperson said at the time, explaining that it couldn’t idly stand by as the former reality TV star besmirched all illegal immigrants. “Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBCUniversal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump.”