It took five years, but someone finally took Univision anchor Jorge Ramos to task for his incessant haranguing of Hispanic conservatives who don’t toe the Univision line and vote for reasons other than immigration.
Watch as Ramos goes in on his usual ethnic disqualification line of questions, only to be stopped cold and taken apart by Trump 2020 Senior Advisor Mercy Schlapp (click "Expand" to view transcript):
JORGE RAMOS: I wanted to- I understand the issue of the pandemic and I wanted to ask you about another issue as well. I wanted to ask you about President Donald Trump's personality. Donald Trump has in the past said that he could grab women by the genitals just because he was a star, he called Kamala Harris a “monster”. Why would a Hispanic woman vote for someone who has been accused of being a racist and a sexist?
MERCY SCHLAPP: Well, I've worked closely with the President for two years. He's a man who listens to us, the women who work with him in the White House. He's always been respectful towards us. We have been leaders in this administration and we know that at the end of the day this President has been focused on promoting women, and on helping them seek opportunities here in the United States. We have seen that women, for example, the unemployment figure for women, has been at a very low level and President Trump's policies have benefited women.
RAMOS: But calling Kamala Harris a monster, isn't that a totally sexist remark?
SCHLAPP: Well...oh please, Jorge!
RAMOS: Isn't it?
SCHLAPP: What we know is...when it comes to politics, Kamala Harris has said terrible things about President Trump, and we've seen that....
RAMOS: She said he's a racist.
SCHLAPP: ...she’s called the president names. And we're not going to accept that because at the end of the day what Democrats are always doing is not just criticizing the President, but also criticizing those who support the president. And at the end of the day, Latinos have said, ´NO MORE´. We are seeing more and more Latinos, and more and more African-Americans supporting this president, because this president is fighting for Latino families and workers. We have seen that there are...for example, when it comes to the economy…
RAMOS (INTERRUPTS): This president called Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists…
SCHLAPP: ...we’ve seen more...this isn’t an interview. Look, Jorge. If you want to talk about politics, that’s OK. But if you're going to accuse me or accuse those who are supporting the president that we're racist or that, or something negative, please. Let’s have a mature interview.
Schlapp would later go on to call Ramos out on his activist brand of journalism, when she said: “Jorge, we know you're supporting the Democratic Party, given your questions…”, at which point Ramos reverted to his old, tired schtick: “I'm not supporting anyone. I'm just a reporter asking questions.”
Ramos spent six and a half minutes barraging Schlapp with four incendiary questions, interrupting her train of thought, and accusing Trump with the same made-up claims upon which he based his performative confrontation of Trump in Iowa.
By contrast, Ramos’ subsequent interview with the Biden surrogate, former Labor Secretary Linda Solis, consisted of two softball questions leading to the answers he wanted the show´s viewers to hear (on immigration, naturally), and lasted a mere three minutes. In terms of time allotted, line of questioning and confrontation, there is no longer a question as to the biases at Univision’s national news network.
Unfortunately, it is Univision’s viewers who remain grossly underserved by the antics of Ramos and of those who indulge him.
Let advertisers like Acura who enable such bias know how you feel. Write them a note here. Then click here to view Media Research Center Founder and President L. Bozell III’s letter to the FCC in strong opposition to the proposed rule change that would allow Univision to be 100% foreign-owned.
Click "Expand" to view the complete transcript of the above mentioned segment as aired on Univision´s Al Punto show on Sunday, November 1, 2020:
JORGE RAMOS: And today we have also invited two of the main advisors of each campaign. Let's go first to Mercedes Schlapp of the Trump-Pence campaign. Mercedes Schlapp, thank you for coming back here to the show. And I wanted to ask you about the pandemic. The president said this weekend it's going to disappear. But that is not true; there are more than 9,000,000 infected people. On October 30, there were 100,000 new cases. And how can it not be called a failure when we have 220,000 Americans dead?
MERCEDES SCHLAPP: Well, the goal is to defeat the virus, to fight this virus. And the president and his team are focused on finding a solution to this virus that has impacted so many lives here in the United States and around the world. And as we've seen, the president has totally mobilized the federal government (working with) the private sector to develop a vaccine, to ensure that drugs are coming to market. That was Operation Warp Speed, and the president's plan is to ensure that we can continue to do those tests; we have already completed over 130,000,000 tests here in the United States; and also to ensure that states have the resources they need in order to continue fighting this virus and at the same time work to ensure that we can continue to give relief to Americans. As we know, there are also many problems with mental health. We have seen an increase in suicides, because of course, being locked down in their homes is difficult, it is a very difficult time for this country.
RAMOS: I wanted to- I understand the issue of the pandemic and I wanted to ask you about another issue as well. I wanted to ask you about President Donald Trump's personality. Donald Trump has in the past said that he could grab women by the genitals just because he was a star, he called Kamala Harris a “monster”. Why would a Hispanic woman vote for someone who has been accused of being a racist and a sexist?
SCHLAPP: Well, I've worked closely with the President for two years. He's a man who listens to us, the women who work with him in the White House. He's always been respectful towards us. We have been leaders in this administration and we know that at the end of the day this President has been focused on promoting women, and on helping them seek opportunities here in the United States. We have seen that women, for example, the unemployment figure for women, has been at a very low level and President Trump's policies have benefited women.
RAMOS: But calling Kamala Harris a monster, isn't that a totally sexist remark?
SCHLAPP: Well...oh please, Jorge!
RAMOS: Isn't it?
SCHLAPP: What we know is...when it comes to politics, Kamala Harris has said terrible things about President Trump, and we've seen that....
RAMOS: She said he's a racist.
SCHLAPP: ...she’s called the president names. And we're not going to accept that because at the end of the day what Democrats are always doing is not just criticizing the President, but also criticizing those who support the president. And at the end of the day, Latinos have said, ´NO MORE´. We are seeing more and more Latinos, and more and more African-Americans supporting this president, because this president is fighting for Latino families and workers. We have seen that there are...for example, when it comes to the economy…
RAMOS (INTERRUPTS): This president called Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists…
SCHLAPP: ...we’ve seen more...this isn’t an interview. Look, Jorge. If you want to talk about politics, that’s OK. But if you're going to accuse me or accuse those who are supporting the president that we're racist or that, or something negative, please. Let’s have a mature interview.
JORGE (INTERRUPTS): I wanted to ask you about the migration issue. Joe Biden has promised to legalize 11,000,000 undocumented immigrants in the first 100 days. The president has insisted on building a wall and deporting people who have no criminal record and taking away the protection from Dreamers. What does President Donald Trump offer undocumented immigrants?
SCHLAPP: Well, as we've seen, the president talked about his American Dream Plan, where he wants to find a permanent solution for DACA recipients. At the same time, the president has long tried to work with Democrats in Congress to solve this immigration problem. As we know, immigration laws are broken in this country, we have sought to try to work with Democrats to seek comprehensive immigration reform. Democrats have said no; they don't want to work with us. At the same time, that border must be secured because as we know, at the end of the day, it benefits drug traffickers, human traffickers and of course, that is not a good thing for those vulnerable families who are trying to come to the border.
RAMOS: Finally, Mercedes, is the president going to recognize the results, even if it's against him? On several occasions he has said that he will not recognize it, and as you know, there is no evidence of fraud.
SCHLAPP: Jorge, we know you're supporting the Democratic Party, given your questions…
RAMOS: I'm not supporting anyone. I'm just a reporter asking questions. Is the president going to accept the results?
SCHLAPP: You have been one of this president’s harshest critics. So what we know is that the president wants to make sure that these elections are free, fair, and clean. And that's what we're ensuring, with the cooperation of the states and ensuring that we have elections that are free and clean. And as we know, the president is going to accept the results. At the end of the day, we know President Trump is going to win next week. We are seeing enthusiasm for this president and we are also ensuring that, by talking to voters, that they know about Joe Biden being corrupt, weak; he has been in politics for 47 years and has a record of failures that have not helped the Latino community. President Trump has a record over 47 months and as we're seeing- that Latinos are coming out to vote for President Trump.
RAMOS: Mercedes Schlapp, thank you for being here on the show.
SCHLAPP: Thank you very much.
