Univision’s Enrique Acevedo Offers Indefensible Defense of ‘Softball’ Interview with Trump

Univision

On Wednesday, The Washington Post published an op-ed by TelevisaUnivision anchor Enrique Acevedo titled “My Trump interview had a purpose: Giving Latinos a chance to hear him.” Acevedo writes that he was “concerned by the troubling innuendo” in the widespread backlash to his November 9 primetime interview with former President Donald Trump on the Spanish-language TV network. “Rather than imposing a personal stance,” he writes, “the goal was to empower viewers to form their own assessments and process the information rationally rather than emotionally.”

In his column, Acevedo explains the motivation behind his Trump interview, not realizing that his own words are the most damning indictment of his work. He pushes back against his critics, something he was unwilling to do when sitting face-to-face with the most anti-Latino president in modern history. He offers myriad rationalizations for his interview while ignoring some of the key issues raised by what was widely viewed as a betrayal of the Latino community.

Acevedo’s interview was marked by a gracious tone and a lack of follow-up questions. He failed to challenge Trump’s claim that he had built his border wall and made Mexico pay for it, or his claim that former President Barack Obama was responsible for the horrific practice of family separations. Acevedo did not bring up immigration until the second half of the hour-long special.

This approach was intentional, Acevedo writes, because the purpose of the interview was “to afford conservative Latinos the opportunity to hear directly from him [Trump] without confrontation or hostility.” But everyone in America has heard from Trump directly, whether in his State of the Union addresses, in his televised rallies and speeches, or on social media. The New York Times reports that Univision has interrupted its programming to carry Trump’s remarks live. Yet Acevedo feels that Trump, once the most powerful person in the world, deserves a deferential platform after his many bigoted attacks on Latinos.

Acevedo, who holds a master’s in journalism from Columbia University, writes that he “intentionally granted him [Trump] ample space. It was a softball interview by design, not by accident or imposition.” This abdication of journalistic responsibility is astonishing, considering Univision’s enormous reach in the Latino community. According to Nielsen, 2.9 million people watched what one former president of Univision termed “a one-hour propaganda open space.” If the plan was to let Trump speak without Acevedo providing context or accountability, there was really no point in his being there. Besides, what respected journalist in the world does a softball presidential interview by design?

Acknowledging the furor that the interview generated, Acevedo suggests that criticism is rooted in anti-Mexican bias. (Acevedo is based in Mexico City.) “Outdated prejudice against Mexico and its news media poses significant dangers,” he writes. However, playing the Mexican card here is a complete fail, as some of Acevedo’s harshest critics have been fellow Latinos. Ana Navarro-Cárdenas called the interview “a disgrace,” while actor John Leguizamo encouraged Latinos to boycott Univision. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Latino advocacy groups, and prominent Latino voices have all decried Acevedo’s cozying up to Trump. How ironic that Acevedo is willing to come after his critics — while he did not even call out Trump for comparing migrants to the fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter.

True, some Latino conservatives praised Acevedo’s interview, and TelevisaUnivision’s CEO defended the company’s news strategy as “nonpartisan and objective.” Acevedo writes “It worked. It made news.” But in nearly 900 words, Acevedo does not address the most problematic aspects of his sit-down. He does not explain Jared Kushner’s role in facilitating the interview or why it was held at Mar-A-Lago with several TelevisaUnivision executives in attendance. Nor does he mention the network’s canceling campaign ads for President Joe Biden that were set to air during the special or its nixing of a scheduled interview with the president’s Hispanic Media Director. So rather than helping him, Acevedo’s op-ed only revives a controversy in which the news anchor seemingly abandoned his credibility. It reads like a public relations attempt at damage control.

Unfortunately, it’s too late. Acevedo has achieved a career-defining moment that does not reflect well on him or his network. The fact that he feels the need to explain his Trump interview — in print, over a month after it aired — speaks volumes about what an embarrassing disaster it was.

Raul A. Reyes is an attorney and contributor to NBC Latino and CNN Opinion. You can follow him on X: @RaulAReyes, Instagram: @raulareyes1.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.