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Camping World CEO Backs Down After Telling Trump Supporters to Shop Elsewhere

From the “you just had to know THIS was coming” department, the CEO of the recreational vehicle and equipment chain Camping World is already backing down from statements that he made suggesting that some supporters of President Trump should shop elsewhere.

The remarks of Marcus Lemonis have come back to bite him in the ass big time as he seems to be finding out just how many millions of dollars that his loose tongue and arrogance could cost him if Trump supporters took his advice and spent their hard-earned dollars at businesses owned by competitors.

Now he is claiming that it was all a big misunderstanding and that he ONLY meant the neo-Nazis and white supremacists which according to CNN – there are 63 million of them.

Mr. Lemonis issued a long statement via Facebook and Vimeo on Thursday in which he tried to climb out of the hole that he had dug for himself.

Via Miami.com “The Profit star Marcus Lemonis releases statement after Trump comments”:

Miami’s Marcus Lemonis is under fire, and he’s fighting back.

In a recent interview with CNBC’s “Power Lunch,” The Profit star said that consumers who “are in favor of what [Trump] said” about the Charlottesville, Va., protests should not take his money.

The Camping World CEO added: “It’s scary right now.”

The host asked whether businesses should be worried about how they look dealing with the current administration.

“There’s no doubt that there is probably not many consumers in this country today that are in favor of what has been said in the last couple of days and if they are, quite frankly don’t shop at my business. And I think the reality of it is is that there is a fear, there is a fear of association.”

Of course, Lemonis is now getting trolled like crazy.

The part time Wellington resident was forced to post a lengthy open letter on Facebook. He talked about being born in Lebanon and brought to Miami by his adopted parents, and then his childhood, when he was often bullied, then he apologized, sort of.

Here is his semi-apology via Vimeo but it sounds more like weasel words than a sincere statement of contrition.

Here is the link to his FACEBOOK post on the matter from which I excerpt the following:

Last week I gave my opinion on what had happened. I made the mistake of letting my fear and emotion talk about subjects that I shouldn’t have. As the CEO of a business, I am responsible to take care of the people that work there. I opened my mouth and put them in harms way. While I know, that the headline published was taken out of context and I have to live with that. there should have never been a headline and I gave a chance to live.

My apology is sincere. It is to my employees who have been forced to deal with this. I am nothing without you. I am here to serve, guide and protect you. I will work harder. Please forgive me. Please don’t punish them.

I apologize to anyone who has supported their cause , their political preference, their candidate, their beliefs. I was Not raised this way and have always been taught to respect everyone. This is a free county and my fears shouldn’t be projected on anyone. I am asking for your forgiveness. I should have not disrespected that and will not again.

I apologize to the people who have followed my show for years and have said they have learned so much and are inspired, who now say that have been let down and will never trust me again.

I DO NOT apologize to anyone who is in favor or hate, violence, bigotry or racism. And I will do my part to help eliminate it from both sides. One way I do that is by being an example. You are the reason I made this mistake. You took my common sense away and purpose. I will not let you beat me or beat me down.

His comments that were made on CNBC can be heard HERE. Make up your own mind as to what he meant.

While Lemonis may be a renowned business genius he probably just wishes that he would have kept his mouth shut which is often the best thing to do when it comes to controversial issues, the shareholders can’t be very happy with this guy right now.

via Downtrend.com

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