Donald Trump’s security detail forcibly removed a Univision anchor from a press conference Tuesday.
Jorge Ramos tried at the beginning of the briefing to question the 2016 Republican presidential candidate on his newly announced immigration platform. However, rather than wait to be called on, the anchor jumped into the briefing by firing off several statements, monopolizing the time of the other reporters who had gathered to ask Trump questions.
Trump was not thrilled with Ramos’ inquiries, and accused the anchor of being out of order.
“Excuse me. Sit down. You weren’t called,” Trump said. “Sit down. Sit down.”
“I have a right to ask a question,” Ramos continued, talking over the 2016 Republican presidential candidate.
“No you don’t,” Trump said. “You haven’t been called. Go back to Univision.”
Trump motioned to have his security detail remove Ramos from the room. They obliged.
Later in the briefing, Trump was asked about Ramos’ removal.
“I don’t know him. But I would certainly love to have questions from him,” Trump told reporters. “I don’t mind if he comes back, frankly.”
The former reality TV star caused a stir in June when he said during his campaign launch that Mexico is guilty of shipping drug dealers and rapists to the United States.
“They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime,” Trump said. “They’re rapists and some, I assume, are good people, but I speak to border guards and they’re telling us what we’re getting.”
Univision, the most-watched Spanish language television network in the United States, responded soon thereafter by breaking business ties with the Trump brand, including the Miss USA pageant, which is operated by a company that Trump partly owns.
Undeterred, Trump’s team responded defiantly to news that Univision had cut ties with his brand.
“The Mexican government and others are putting tremendous pressure on Univision to break their signed and fully effective contract with the Miss Universe Organization because Mr. Trump has been exposing to the public, and the world, the significant damage that is being done at the southern border, and the terrible and costly trade deals that the United States is incompetently making with Mexico (these deals are great for Mexico and horrible for the United States),” the real estate mogul said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner.
“Mexican leadership has been doing serious damage to the United States by out-negotiating our representatives and political leaders. They are taking our jobs, taking our money and at the same time hurting us at the border with illegals from all over the world freely flowing into our country,” the statement added.
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UPDATE Aug. 25, 2015: Trump’s security detail let Ramos back into the press conference.
Ramos had a chance at the end of the breifing to engage in a somewhat tense back-and-forth with Trump over immigration policy.
