Univision in 'self-inflicted state of disarray' over a month after Trump interview sparked backlash from left
'The network has no one but themselves to blame,' Jorge Bonilla says
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Univision continues to justify airing a November interview with former President Trump that sent liberals into a state of disarray simply because America’s largest Spanish-language network offered him a platform.
"Univision has been in a self-inflicted state of disarray for a long time, and the fallout from the Trump interview has exposed that," Jorge Bonilla, the former director of MRC Latino who has monitored Spanish-language media for years, told Fox News Digital.
The saga began in November when Univision aired an interview journalist Enrique Acevedo conducted with Trump from Mar-a-Lago. It was Trump’s first time speaking to the network since he famously kicked Univision anchor Jorge Ramos out of a 2015 campaign event.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Journalist Enrique Acevedo defended his widely criticized interview with former President Trump on Univision in a Washington Post opinion piece published a month after the sit down irked liberals. (Screengrab/Univision)
Bonilla, who hosts a daily talk show on Audacy’s Radio Libre 790, and is a news analyst at the Media Research Center, said Univision was largely seen as anti-Trump, liberal programming from 2015 when Trump sparred with Ramos through the duration of his presidency. But in 2021, when Mexican media company Televisa acquired control of Univision, new leadership attempted to straighten things out.
But weeks after the Trump interview, Acevedo is still attempting to quell his critics. Everyone from the ladies on ABC’s "The View" to actor John Leguizamo to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have openly criticized the Spanish-language network following the now-infamous sit-down, so Acevedo wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Post headlined, "My Trump interview had a purpose: Giving Latinos a chance to hear him."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Acevedo pushed back on liberal critics who slammed him for not being tougher on Trump and not fact-checking him in real-time during their discussion. In the Wednesday column, the anchor wrote that giving Trump space to make his claims that viewers could judge for themselves was the point of the interview, and that he didn’t want to be a "protagonist" who would just be "blowing up" the conversation to correct Trump’s claims.
Donald Trumps Univision interview sparked anger on the left toward the Spanish-language network. (Univision)
Toward the end of the piece, Acevedo declared: "True journalistic integrity lies not in sensationalism, but in fostering a space for diverse perspectives to be explored, offering the audience a deeper examination of critical actors beyond the confines of public caricature."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But the need for Acevedo to continue defending the Nov. 9 interview on Dec. 13 indicates that many viewers, along with powerful Hispanics, expect Univision to remain a destination for liberals and only liberals.
"The network has no one but themselves to blame," Bonilla said. "Had they devoted themselves to actual journalism rather than left-wing activism, they’d be in much better shape, both financially and in terms of viewer trust."
LIBERALS ARE PEEVED AT UNIVISION FOR OFFERING TRUMP A PLATFORM: ‘A MAJOR MELTDOWN’
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The November interview marked Trump’s first time speaking to America’s largest Spanish-language network since he famously kicked Univision anchor Jorge Ramos out of a 2015 campaign event. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Last week, The New York Times published a report that "howls of protests against Univision" because of the Trump interview "haven’t stopped" a month later. The Times noted that critics of Univision believe the Trump interview "confirmed their fears since the traditionally left-leaning network merged with the Mexican broadcaster Televisa early last year in a $4.8 billion deal."
"The network, [critics] said, was taking a troubling turn to the right under its new owners," the Times reported. "Univision executives have said they are making a pivot toward the center — a strategy that reflects the split political preferences of the Hispanic electorate and the need to broaden their audience."
TelevisaUnivision has maintained that it is "nonpartisan and objective" and hopes to serve all viewers.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Univision’s news strategy is nonpartisan and objective, and our goal is to serve our audience," a network spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
However, Bonilla isn’t convinced that Univision will be anything other than a liberal mouthpiece, despite what its critics and reporters for liberal news outlets claim.
"I am skeptical of an actual editorial shift at Univision so long as Jorge Ramos is the face that runs the place. Time will tell whether ownership is serious about balance, or whether this is just a ‘Republicans buy sneakers, too’ play for campaign cash," Bonilla said.
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TelevisaUnivision CEO Wade Davis previously provided the following statement: "Our goal is to cover candidates from all political parties — Democrats, Republicans and Independents — and to assure Hispanics have the most comprehensive access to information that will help them make educated decisions at the ballot box."
Fox News Digital's Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.