Univision's Ramos new Trump media target

Univision newsman Jorge Ramos at a news conference Tuesday in Dubuque, Iowa, questions Donald Trump about his immigration proposal, leading Trump to have Ramos escorted out.
Univision newsman Jorge Ramos at a news conference Tuesday in Dubuque, Iowa, questions Donald Trump about his immigration proposal, leading Trump to have Ramos escorted out.

DUBUQUE, Iowa -- Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has opened up a new media feud, taking on another popular TV news personality even as his appearances continue to draw big ratings.

Trump engaged in a prolonged confrontation Tuesday with Jorge Ramos, the Miami-based anchor for Univision, during a news conference in Dubuque.

After Trump had answered two or three questions from other reporters, Ramos, seated in the front row, rose and stood silently for a moment. Trump turned toward Ramos, acknowledging him without speaking.

Ramos then began to speak, asserting Trump could not accomplish aspects of his immigration policy, including ending automatic citizenship for infants born in the United States to illegal aliens.

Trump quickly interrupted him, saying he hadn't called on Ramos. He then repeatedly told him to "sit down" and then said, "Go back to Univision."

Trump also turned his head and looked at a member of his security detail, who approached Ramos as the newsman continued to speak, saying: "You cannot deport 11 million people." Ramos was referring to Trump's proposal to deport all people living in the country illegally before allowing some of them to return.

As he was taken from the room, Ramos said, "You cannot build a 1,900-mile wall," another proposal in Trump's plan.

Moments later, Trump justified Ramos' removal, saying: "He just stands up and starts screaming. Maybe he's at fault also."

In an interview on ABC's Good Morning America Wednesday morning, Ramos said he was not expecting to be tossed from the news conference. The Emmy Award-winning newsman hosts Noticiero Univision, the evening news program on Univision, the biggest Spanish language network in the U.S.

"Never in my life -- and I've been a journalist for more than 30 years -- have I been thrown out of a press conference," he said.

When asked if he was acting more as an advocate than a journalist, Ramos replied, "As a journalist you have to take a stand. I think the best journalism happens when you take a stand."

On CBS This Morning, Ramos said he takes Trump's comments about immigrants personally.

"The fact is that when Donald Trump is talking about immigrants, he's talking about me," he said. "Without the Latino vote, he is not going to get to the White House," Ramos said.

Trump told NBC's Today show that Ramos "stood up and started ranting and raving like a madman. He was totally, absolutely out of line."

Ramos was later allowed back into Tuesday's news conference. Trump greeted him politely, though they quickly resumed their argument, interrupting each other during an extended back-and-forth.

"Your immigration plan, it is full of empty promises," Ramos began. "You cannot deny citizenship to children born in this country."

"Why do you say that?" Trump replied. "Some of the great legal scholars agree that's not true."

Citizenship for infants born in the United States is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment, and changing that would require amending the Constitution.

During the five-minute exchange, Ramos claimed that 40 percent of people in the country illegally enter through airports, not over the Mexican border. "I don't believe that. I don't believe it," Trump responded.

A 2006 report by the Pew Hispanic Center found that up to 45 percent of illegal aliens entered with legal visas but overstayed them.

Trump said he did not believe that a majority of immigrants in the U.S. illegally were criminals, or in the country to commit crimes. "Most of them are good people," he said. But he described recent cases where people had been killed by assailants later determined to be in the country illegally.

Finally, Trump reminded Ramos that he was suing Univision, which dropped Trump's Miss Universe pageant after he described Mexican immigrants in the U.S. illegally as "criminals" and "rapists."

Isaac Lee, chief executive officer of Univision, responded to the confrontation with a written comment: "We'd love for Mr. Trump to sit down for an in-depth interview with Jorge to talk about the specifics of his proposals."

Tuesday's confrontation happened the day after Trump again sparred with Fox News Channel anchor Megyn Kelly, who co-moderated the first GOP debate. Trump welcomed Kelly back from a vacation Monday night by tweeting that he liked her show, The Kelly File, better while she was away. He said Kelly "must have had a terrible vacation" because "she's really off her game," and retweeted a message that referred to her as a bimbo.

That drew a response from Fox News chief Roger Ailes, who called on Trump to apologize.

Ramos and Kelly commiserated a bit on Kelly's TV show Wednesday night.

"What is it like to be caught in the cross hairs of a billionaire presidential front-runner?" Kelly asked.

"Well, you know exactly how it feels," Ramos replied.

During a radio conversation Wednesday with Laura Ingraham, Trump toned down his attacks against Kelly, saying their spat was "not a death struggle, not a big deal."

"Actually I watched her show last night. She was very nice and I appreciated it," he said.

He said he and Ailes had just gotten off a phone call together, and praised the executive as "a good friend of mine" and a "special guy."

Information for this article was contributed by Thomas Beaumont, David Bauder and Lynn Elber of The Associated Press and by Stephen Battaglio of the Los Angeles Times.

A Section on 08/27/2015

Upcoming Events