It must be nice to run for president, secure in the knowledge that the nation’s largest Spanish-language network will do its best to clean up if an embarrassing story about your campaign were to land. In this case, Univision dives on a bombshell story from The Miami Herald that charges the Biden campaign of “suppressing the Hispanic vote” in Central Florida, as if it were a grenade.
Watch the full report below- a perfect example of how Univision conducts itself as a radical immigration PAC with a broadcast license, exercises undue influence in our political process, and why their push to become 100% foreign-owned is so dangerous (click "Expand" to view full transcript"):
ILIA CALDERON: The Biden campaign is precisely under fire with regard to the Hispanic vote, as Andrea León reports.
ANDREA LEON: With the presidential election less than one hundred days away, the Biden campaign faces a setback in Florida- one of the states that are crucial towards winning the White House. 90 Democratic field organizers have denounced that the campaign is suppressing the Hispanic vote in the central part of the state. In a letter addressed to party leadership, they said that some of them were relocated with no explanation. Other organizers were initially accepted, but were then left in limbo. Additionally, they said that the resources deployed to that region are insufficient- which would affect the electoral landscape in a state without a clear political inclination.
SERGIO GARCIA RIOS, UNIVISION HEAD OF POLLING: But we must remember that in the past election, Trump won this state by 1%. Which is to say, a few votes made the difference. So each vote is going to count and each detail must be taken care of.
LEON: This impasse happens at a time when polling suggests that Biden would have greater acceptance from Hispanics in and out of Florida. According to Latino Decisions, 60% of Hispanics nationwide would vote for Biden and only 25% would do so for Trump. In Florida, Biden leads (among Hispanics) preference with 57%, against 31% for Trump.
GARCIA RIOS: Latinos tend to be far more concerned about specific proposals, on the campaign’s plans, and on the way in which these plans will affect their daily lives once one of the two candidates is elected president.
LEON: Joe Biden’s campaign replied in a statement that they are fighting for every vote in Florida and making the necessary investments in order to win the Latino vote. “In the past months, we’ve engaged Hispanic voters and organized virtual events throughout the state. We have an experienced and diverse leadership team in Florida, and we’ve launched a series of ads that reflect the diversity of the Hispanic community.” Political analysts say that both candidates should focus on the Latino vote because while it is true that this situation doesn’t help Joe Biden, Trump’s rhetoric about immigrants doesn’t help the president either. Back to you, Jorge.
There were several things to watch here. First, Univision never actually cited The Miami Herald’s report or talks to the aggrieved Democrat organizers, so viewers who didn’t already know about the story can’t verify coverage for themselves. Univision might as well have pulled an Ilhan Omar and said, “some people said something.”
Second: 40 seconds into the story, Univision quickly pivots to polling- citing Latino Decisions. Not disclosed: the firm’s relationship with the Biden campaign who hired the firm. According to Politico:
Dogged over his relatively weak support among Latinos in both the primary and general elections, Joe Biden is conducting a massive turnaround campaign, hiring a rash of Hispanic operatives, spending $1 million in Spanish-language outreach and, this week, signing one of the nation’s top pollsters in the field, Latino Decisions.
(....)
“We’re not taking anything for granted in this election,” said Jennifer Molina, Biden’s Latino Media. “The Latino vote is critically important, which is why we’re bringing on Latino Decisions to help us with our messaging and outreach in order to engage with Latino voters on why Joe Biden is the best choice for President.”
But this never comes up in the report. Univision dishonestly presents Latino Decisions, with whom they’ve done polling in the past, as a neutral source of information. In effect, you see two major omissions in one. Speaking of things left out, note the lack of chyrons throughout the report, something in abundant supply for any report on Trump.
The report finally wraps up by pivoting away from the polling, and towards reminding the audience about Trump’s “rhetoric about immigrants”, or more accurately, about illegal immigration. In other words, pay no attention to this worrisome and embarrassing stuff about the Biden campaign- Orange Man Bad.
And then there are those who complain when we rightly point out that Univision acts less like a serious news organization than like a radical immigration advocacy PAC with a broadcast license seeking government permission to become a foreign-owned entity exercising undue influence in our electoral process. One wonders whether Univision will report this bit of crisis communications consulting to the FEC as an in-kind donation.
This bit of campaign propaganda passing as news was brought to you by Xfinity. Feel free to click here and let them know how you feel about their sponsorship of Univision. Also: if you haven’t already done so, click here to read Media Research Center Founder and President L. Brent Bozell III’s letter to the FCC in opposition to the rule change that would allow Univision to be 100% foreign-owned.
