Jorge Ramos argued that journalists need to ‘fact-check’ everything the former president says
Univision anchor Jorge Ramos criticized the network in a column published Saturday about their interview with former President Donald Trump, saying that journalists must continue to question those in power.
Ramos, an anchor at Univision and a frequent critic of the former president, weighed in on the mounting criticism of the network after its recent interview with Trump.
“That’s why it is very dangerous to fail to confront Trump. And that’s why it is our moral obligation to confront him every time there’s a journalistic opportunity to do it. But I understand that not everyone agrees, and I open the debate here,” he continued.
“I believe we must question and confront Trump for democracy, for the rights of immigrants and, simply, for good journalism,” he wrote. Ramos, who was expelled from a press conference by Trump in 2015, argued that journalists must “question and fact-check everything he says and does.”
“What few people know is that, after that incident, Trump allowed me to return to the news conference and ask him questions for about 10 minutes. I confronted him about his plans to build a wall on the border with Mexico and deport millions of undocumented migrants. I mentioned that many Hispanics despised him for his anti-immigration rhetoric and that, regardless of what he expected, he would not win the Latino vote. And he did not, not in 2016 and not in 2020,” he wrote, elaborating on the incident.
Liberals slammed Univision for the interview, including “The View” co-host Ana Navarro, who argued Ramos should have been the one to interview the former president.
“It is time for us Latinos to hold Univision accountable,” she said.
Actor John Leguizamo took to social media and called on fellow activists to not go on Univision.
He also called out the network during an appearance on “The Daily Show,” saying Univision missed an opportunity to call out Trump’s “anti-Latino policies.”
The actor said that while there is “nothing wrong with Univision interviewing Trump,” the problem was that the outlet missed an opportunity to “confront” him.
“I thought it would be a dope opportunity to confront him on his hardline anti-Latino policies,” Leguizamo said. “But instead of an interview worthy of Univision, we saw this caca mierda,” a crude term roughly translating to excrement.
Ramos argued the journalists shouldn’t take sides, and noted that the media was obligated to “broadcast the messages” of 2024 presidential candidates.
“Of course we should not take sides, and we are obliged to broadcast the messages of all candidates in the 2024 presidential election. But at the same time, we cannot surrender our responsibility to ask hard and precise questions. That’s what journalism is for. These journalistic principles apply to everyone,” he wrote.