Donald Trump’s big stump speech in Dubuque, Iowa, was widely anticipated for the pivotal caucus state. But before that main event got underway, the real estate mogul-turned-aspiring chief executive took a few minutes to reignite his feud with television network Univision. Donald Trump took questions from a host of reporters during a pre-rally press conference, declining a few queries by Univision’s lead anchor Jorge Ramos. According to NBC News , Trump addressed the reporter directly, calling attention to the GOP frontrunner’s recent history of public disagreements with Ramos’s employer.
“Sit down, you weren’t called. Go back to Univision.”
Ramos, described by the Washington Post as “one of the (if not the) most powerful newsmen on Spanish-language TV,” was eventually removed from the press conference gallery, ostensibly by employees of the candidate. NBC’s Katy Tur tweeted from the event, suggesting that Trump himself signaled for the reporter’s ejection.
Ramos tried to ask about 11 mil undoc immigrants. Trump told him to sit down. Got heated. Looked to his security to get Ramos out.
— Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) August 25, 2015
Trump then went on to discuss Ramos in the reporter’s absence, describing him as “obviously a very emotional person,” while noting that he does not know Ramos personally.
After a short time, Jorge Ramos was allowed back into the press conference and permitted to direct a question to Donald Trump. Univision ended up getting a lengthy one-on-one interview with Trump in the exchange that followed, as Ramos fired a string of questions at the Republican hopeful. Before the discussion got underway, Trump greeted Ramos, saying “It’s good to have you back” and explaining that he would have ended up fielding questions from the reporter at some point.
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CNN noted that the subsequent interaction between Trump and Ramos was heated at times, touching on Trump’s history of inflammatory rhetoric regarding Mexican immigrants and the government of Mexico. Also bringing up his $500 million lawsuit against Univision, Donald Trump seemingly chastised the reporter for his line of questioning, saying, “I have a bigger heart than you.”
The dust-up with Jorge Ramos was not the only media-related fracas for Donald Trump within the past 24 hours. Last night, Donald Trump went after Fox’s Megyn Kelly again via Twitter, haranguing the television reporter on her first night back behind the cameras after an 11-day vacation. Trump’s previous row with Kelly reportedly led to the departure of adviser Roger Stone from the candidate’s campaign. Donald Trump and Roger Ailes supposedly agreed to a “cease fire” with regard to Megyn Kelly but after Trump’s recent tirade, both sides appear to be on a war footing. Having made formidable enemies out of the likes of Fox and Univision, Donald Trump will have another trial by fire when he appears on CNN for the next Republican debate on September 16.
[Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images]