TAMPA, Fla. — Tweaking Donald Trump on the day he opens a landmark hotel in Washington, Hillary Clinton campaigned Wednesday with the celebrity chef that the Republican presidential nominee sued for quitting the project.
Chef Jose Andres was supposed to open a Spanish-Japanese fusion restaurant in the new Trump International Hotel, which was renovated from the Old Post Office just blocks from the White House. But the chef quit over Mr. Trump’s remarks about Mexico sending rapists and criminals across the border.
Mr. Trump filed a $10 million lawsuit for breach of contract and Mr. Andres counter-sued. The matter remains under litigation.
As he introduced Mrs. Clinton at a open-air rally here, Mr. Andres proudly proclaimed: “I am an immigrant.”
“Today I could be in a certain hotel in Washington, D.C., opening a restaurant inside,” he said. “But here I am, not mentioning him, because we won’t mention him until he apologizes to every person he has insulted.”
The chef, who was born in Spain, said that he and his wife after 21 years living in America had recently become citizens. He said they would cast their first vote for Mrs. Clinton, the Democratic nominee.
His appeals on Mrs. Clinton’s behalf targeted Hispanic voters, who make up nearly a quarter of the population in the Sunshine State.
Mrs. Clinton said that Mr. Andres was not only a chef but a humanitarian.
“He sacrificed his business,” she said. “After Jose heard the kind of things Trump was saying about immigrants he said, ’No, I’m not going to open a restaurant in his hotel.”
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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