Once derided by Trump as a ‘mouthpiece’ for the left, a changed Univision softens its tone

When former President Donald Trump takes the stage with Latino voters on Wednesday night in Miami at a town hall hosted by Univision, one thing may be missing: fact checking.

There was no fact checking during Vice President Kamala Harris’ town hall with the network last week either. But it’s the question-and-answer session with her Republican rival that has raised eyebrows among some inside and out of the network, who see it as another marker in the Spanish-language broadcaster’s shift in political tone — especially in its approach to confronting Trump in high-profile settings.

While live fact checking may still take place on stage, a person with knowledge told CNN, the network has officially stated that it will take place afterwards and during an October 17 special program that will examine both candidate’s answers.

Univision, the biggest Spanish-language broadcaster in the US, has long been known for its challenging interviews and scrutinizing coverage of politicians and their policies affecting the Latino community. But the left-leaning Univision of previous election cycles looks different than the one today.

In 2015, the network took a marked stance against Trump after he denigrated immigrants as “bringing drugs” and “rapists” into the US. Univision, which had broadcast Trump’s Miss Universe pageants, cut ties with the then-candidate, citing what it called “derogatory comments.” The two sides later settled after Trump sued the network over breach of contract.

During that election, Jorge Ramos, the network’s longtime star anchor, took on even greater international recognition as he tangled with Trump over his immigration policy and comments about immigrants. Trump ejected Ramos from a press conference after the journalist confronted him over his immigration policy. Ramos continued to push back against Trump’s stance on immigrants, speaking out about what he said is Trump’s racist language.

In 2020, the Trump campaign derided Univision as “a mouthpiece” for the Democratic Party. Univision responded by inviting Trump for an interview and saying, “We will continue to meet our commitment and duty of informing the Hispanic community about his policies and his electoral campaign by embracing the truth and the facts.”

But now, following Univision’s merger with the Mexican telecommunications behemoth Televisa, Univision is facing criticism for being “soft” on Trump. It’s a shift the network has openly defended as economic realities and demographics change.

‘Before and after’ the interview

The town halls with Harris and Trump are moderated by Enrique Acevedo, the Mexico-based anchor of Univision parent company Televisa’s flagship nightly newscast “En Punto.”

It was Acevedo’s interview with Trump in November that stunned many inside and out of the network for its softer approach and lack of fact checking. For many Univision observers and former staffers, the sit-down represented a split between the Univision of the past, and what may be shaping to be the Univision of the future.

“There was a before and after” the interview, one former staffer said.

Some of that disappointment was painfully public. A group of influential Latino organizations penned an open letter expressing “deep concern” over the Trump interview. Ramos stepped out even further, publicly criticizing the interview on his website.

The interview “put in doubt the independence of our news department and created discomfort and uncertainty within the newsroom,” Ramos wrote.

“We cannot normalize behavior that threatens democracy and the Hispanic community, or offer Trump an open microphone to broadcast his falsehoods and conspiracy theories,” Ramos wrote. “We must question and fact-check everything he says and does. 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.”

Acevedo later defended the interview in a column for The Washington Post.

“In offering a fair platform for Trump’s views, which resonate with a growing segment of Televisa-Univision’s viewership, I intentionally granted him ample space,” Acevedo said. “It was a soft interview by design, not by accident or imposition, like some suggested.”

The choice of Acevedo as interviewer in November and moderator for the town halls also raised eyebrows within Univision. Though Acevedo holds American citizenship and has spent extensive time in the US, including as a correspondent in Washington, his Televisa news program is based in Mexico and is not aired on Univision. (Acevedo is also an occasional correspondent for CBS News.)

Acevedo co-moderated a 2016 presidential primary debate and has scored major interviews for Univision with President Joe Biden, Dr. Jill Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other senior administration officials. But in and around Univision, some questioned why the network did not call on one of the many correspondents and anchors who live and work in the US to conduct a town hall with American voters.

In a statement, Acevedo pushed back on what he said were “borderline discriminatory” comments about his qualifications to host the town hall.

“My experience across borders, languages, and platforms precisely gives Univision’s audience the regional and global perspective they deserve, and I’m confident in the unique value I bring to this role,” Acevedo said.

A senior Univision executive also defended Acevedo’s role. “He’s a seasoned, qualified journalist He is one of the faces of our news coverage and we determined he’s the right person (for) this role,” the person said.

Last month, Ramos announced he will depart Univision at the end of the year after four decades at the network. His departure is for many, the ultimate sign that Univision’s editorial position is changing.

“Jorge is a very important symbol of an era of journalism in this country, and he is maybe the only recognizable anchor, the only person that all Latinos could point to as a champion for them in all and any circumstance,” one former Univision journalist said.

Several former staffers who spoke to CNN noted that more Republicans have appeared on the network’s air in recent years, and that the quality of Univision’s everyday journalism hasn’t changed. But it’s the tone during these big moments that has caused alarm.

“The question is, what is the mission of the journalism? Is it really just to be in front of whoever and let them speak, or what is your role?” a former Univision journalist said. “What’s the difference between turning a camera on and let him say whatever he wants versus actually having your logo, your reputation and your credibility behind it?”

Ramos declined to comment.

When Acevedo sat down with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in November, also present in the room were TelevisaUnivision Mexico co-CEOs Alfonso de Angoitia Noriega and Bernardo Gomez Martinez, according to reports.

That rang alarms for some at the network, concerned over what they saw as Televisa’s approach to news in Mexico being transposed on Univision. In Mexico, the group has been accused of choosing business relationships over challenging those in power.

“The way they have handled news in Mexico, it’s so dramatically different, and the way they understand power and journalism and the intersection of both, it’s just a game changer. It changes everything,” a former Univision journalist said.

Joaquin Blaya, a former Univision president, publicly derided Acevedo’s interview with Trump as “Mexican-style news coverage.” Acevedo, in his column at the time, pushed back, calling it “outdated prejudice” about Mexico and its news media.”

Daniel Coronell, Univision’s head of news, previously told the New York Times that Televisa executives have no say over the newsroom.

“Univision has a clear separation between corporate interests and the news department,” he said in December.

For Televisa and presidential candidates alike, Univision is an important asset: It is the most popular network for Spanish speakers in the US and a critical outlet to reach Hispanic voters during an election.

But while some question whether the network’s shift is political or the influence of its new Mexican owners, others say it’s just pure demographics and economics.

Mike Madrid, a GOP political consultant at Grassroots Lab and author of “The Latino Century,” told CNN that the Spanish speaking television audience in the United States is shrinking. That means Univision is fighting for an ever-smaller piece of the audience pie.

“Univision had a very partisan reputation for three decades, they can’t afford to be partisan, they have to get every vote, every viewer,” Madrid, who opposes Trump, said. “They have to appeal to everyone, and with Trump picking up more Latino support, they’re moving toward the direction of building an audience, as opposed to cutting it in half.”

Latinos are a population ripe for Republican pick-ups, Madrid said, both in politics and in media. Fox News’ Hispanic viewership is growing rapidly, Madrid noted. This week Fox News announced it intends to capitalize on that growth with a new daily one-hour Spanish-language program entitled “FOX Noticias” on the Spanish language sports channel, Fox Deportes.

Others at Univision say the shift is helping the network gain political relevance their audience deserves. Acevedo’s interview with Trump was the first time in 22 years a current or former Republican president sat with the network for an interview.

While fact checking was not a condition of either candidates’ town hall participation, a Univision spokesperson said, Trump and his campaign have protested fact checking in previous public forums.

A Univision executive defended the town hall’s approach, saying such a format is offering Latino voters an “unprecedented opportunity to talk to the candidates” and have “an authentic dialogue.”

“There has not been another national stage to have this critical dialogue,” the executive said.

Wade Davis, Univision’s CEO until last month, defended Univision’s approach in a memo shortly after the Trump interview last year.

“We made a decision to adopt a strategy that is different than what some other major networks are using, which has been labeled as partisan,” he said. “Univision’s news strategy is one that is non-partisan and objective, and we serve our audience by being welcoming of competing issues, ideas, candidates and parties.”