Washington, Jul 18 (IANS): The Huffington Post announced that it was moving coverage of Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump to the entertainment section of its website, calling his campaign a "sideshow".

"We won't take the bait. If you are interested in what The Donald has to say, you'll find it next to our stories on the Kardashians and The Bachelorette," Washington bureau chief Ryan Grim and editorial director Danny Shea wrote in a statement on the site on Friday.

The site, Grim said in a separate statement, had "erroneously been covering (Trump) as an actual presidential candidate", reports EFE news.

"Now, the impact he's having on the Republican Party and the immigration debate is itself a real thing, and we'll cover that as substance, but anything that tumbles out of his mouth will land on the entertainment page," Grim said.

Trump, 69, has received critical coverage from many media outlets since his campaign launch on June 16, when he denounced Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug smugglers though acknowledging that some of them might be "good" and called for a giant wall on the southern border.

The explosive comments prompted a number of business partners to cut ties with the billionaire real estate developer, including Univision, ESPN and NBC television, Macy's, Spanish celebrity chef Jose Andres and NASCAR.