On 7 December 2020, Unanue stated that Ocasio-Cortez was named 'employee of the month' after her boycott call led to a 1000% sales spike. On January 26, 2021, Goya's board of directors voted to censure Unanue following statements disputing the 2020 United States presidential election, banning him from speaking to the media. An anonymous CNN source familiar with the board’s actions claimed that Unanue's statements "imperiled the future of the company and endangered the lives of some of the shareholders," and that the controversy following Unanue's White House appearance had not been good for the company.