Is Univision really doing this thing again, where it oversells its relevance to a presidential election? Really, after crashing and burning while doing just that in 2016? Based on Jorge Ramos' latest interview with U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), the answer is a resounding yes.
Watch as Ramos introduces the beginning of the Democrats' 2020 presidential cattle call on Al Punto, Univision's weekly political talker:
JORGE RAMOS, HOST, AL PUNTO, UNIVISION: The presidential election in the United States is in 2020, but already some think New Jersey Senator Cory Booker could be a possible candidate. I have had various opportunities to talk with the Senator, but this is the first time we do an interview completely in Spanish. Senator Cory Booker, many thanks for being with us and for speaking Spanish in this interview.
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): Thanks, thanks for the invitation.
The interview itself was nothing to write home about other than the fact that it was done in Spanish (Booker gets an A for effort here - don't quite know what to make of Ramos speaking about three speeds slower in order to accomodate Booker).
The interview proceeded as do all 100% friendly interviews on Al Punto: Ramos tees up the question and then gets out of the way of his guest. And no questions, by the way, about Booker's disgraced New Jersey colleague, Bob Menéndez, currently in the midst of a corruption trial in federal court.
Regardless, the what here is less important than the why. In this case, why is Univision starting to fuel 2020 speculation less than a year after Election Day?
Here's your answer, delivered by Ramos himself the morning after Donald Trump won last year's election:
RAMOS: I haven't the slightest doubt that I'll have to be an opposition journalist, and that's it. Done. And now, politically, I believe that we are...a leader is wanted. Politically, the Democratic Party is in search of leadership that can confront Donald Trump because it is now clear the old guard of the Democratic Party didn't work out. and there are no leaders. They all- where are the young leaders of the Democratic Party? Who is going to be that opposition? Who is going to be that opposition figure that will face Hillary Clinton (sic)? We don't have that right now over here. And that is grave because the Democrats did not prepare, but...but I believe that we are a few months away from seeing who emerges as the main opposition leader in the United States, and there isn't...I don't see it right now. Imagine, I'd love to give you a list with ten names, but I can't even come up with one right now.
From top to bottom, no broadcast television network was more invested in steering the outcome of the 2016 election, and none acted in a more openly partisan manner than Univision. It appears that, even almost a year removed from the election, neither the network nor Jorge Ramos have learned anything.
