Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Tuesday that he’s a fan of Telemundo, though his campaign over the weekend reportedly threatened to pull out of an upcoming GOP debate if the Spanish-language channel were allowed to participate as a host.
During a press conference to promote his new book at Trump Tower in New York, Trump called on a Telemundo reporter.
“Ah, welcome,” Trump said to the reporter. “Welcome to Trump Tower. I like Telemundo, by the way. I like it better than Univision.”
Trump’s remarks are an apparent departure from a report in the Washington Post on Sunday. That story, which explored several Republican candidates who have been unsatisfied with the televised debate process thus far, said Trump’s campaign threatened to boycott any debate hosted by Telemundo.
In July, Trump clashed with a Telemundo reporter who suggested that many Latinos in the U.S. were offended by the billionaire real estate developer’s controversial remarks about illegal immigration.
Trump accused the reporter of intentionally misconstruing his comments. “They take a half a sentence — by the way — they take a half a sentence, then they take a quarter of a sentence,” Trump said. “It’s a typical thing. And you’re with Telemundo and Telemundo should be ashamed.”
In June, Univision, another Spanish-language channel, parted company with Trump’s “Miss Universe” pageant after Trump had made controversial comments about illegal immigration.
He retaliated by suing the company for breach of contract for $500 million.
