Univision Anchor León Krauze recently left the Spanish-language network following a recent “softball” interview with former President Donald Trump received harsh criticism, both within the network and from viewers via Media Ite.
The Nov. 10 interview was “not conducted by a Univision journalist, but by Enrique Acevedo, an anchor from Mexican network Televisa,” The Los Angeles Times reported.
The hour-long interview reportedly raised concern among Univision journalists after the former president “went on at length with incorrect statements that received little pushback.” The journalists reportedly felt like the company was “no longer challenging Republican politicians” as it should.
As Mediaite reported:
“In one exchange, Acevedo brought up the fraud trial as a way to ask Trump about his 91 felony counts, and whether he’s ” concerned that you might win the Republican nomination only to be forced to drop out of the race?”
Trump quickly denied he’d drop out, then repeated some familiar points — including the baseless claim that President Joe Biden has been directing those prosecutions — in a lengthy response riddled with falsehoods.”
The Washington Post reported that Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner helped arrange the sit-down in a bid to attract the coveted Latino vote. According to the L.A. Times:
“Trump has a reputation for not being a fan of Univision. During the 2016 campaign, he had anchor Jorge Ramos physically removed from a news conference after the journalist aggressively questioned him about his immigration policy.
But that changed following Univision’s 2021 merger with the Mexico-based Grupo Televisa’s media, content and production assets. The Washington Post recently reported that executives now running the company have a comfortable relationship with Trump.”
Krauze did not give a reason for his departure, but posted to social media, “After thirteen rewarding years, my journey with Univision Noticias concluded yesterday. It has been an absolute honor and privilege to be a part of this exceptional team of journalism professionals.”
The network didn’t offer an explanation for Krauze’s departure either, but did release a statement wishing him well:
TelevisaUnivision expresses our heartfelt gratitude for the outstanding contributions, expertise, and insightful analyses delivered by Leon Krauze throughout his tenure with our news division. We sincerely appreciate his dedicated efforts in empowering and informing Hispanic communities at both the national and local levels for over a decade. We extend our best wishes to Leon in all his future professional endeavors.
