Buzzfeed terminates GOP ads over Donald Trump

BuzzFeed says Donald Trump's rhetoric caused it to terminate a deal with the Republican National Committee to run political ads on the site this fall.

In an e-mail sent to BuzzFeed employees, CEO Jonah Peretti writes that BuzzFeed told the RNC Monday morning that it wouldn't accept Trump ads. Peretti says the GOP presidential frontrunner's campaign is "directly opposed to the freedoms of our employees in the United States and around the world." He says Trump's proposed ban of Muslims entering the U.S. would "make it impossible" for some employees to do their jobs.

"(W)e don't run cigarette ads because they are hazardous to our health, and we won't accept Trump ads for the exact same reason," Peretti said.

In an e-mailed statement, GOP communications director Sean Spicer says "space was reserved on many platforms, but we never intended to use Buzzfeed."

The Trump campaign didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.