Univision anchor Leon Krauze is leaving the network after it aired a controversial interview with Donald Trump last week.
“TelevisaUnivision expresses our heartfelt gratitude for the outstanding contributions, expertise, and insightful analyses delivered by Leon Krauze throughout his tenure with our news division,” the company said in a statement. “We sincerely appreciate his dedicated efforts in empowering and informing Hispanic communities at both the national and local levels for over a decade. We extend our best wishes to Leon in all his future professional endeavors.”
Krauze has served as a national news anchor for Univision Noticias on “Noticiero Univision Edición Nocturna” since January 2022, and previously worked as an anchor at the company’s Los Angeles station, KMEX. A reason for Krauze’s departure was not disclosed.
“After thirteen rewarding years, my journey with @Univision Noticias concluded yesterday. It has been an absolute honor and privilege to be a part of this exceptional team of journalism professionals,” Krauze said in a statement posted to social media on Wednesday evening. “I depart with profound gratitude for my friends and colleagues at Univisión, Los Angeles. Together, we shared unforgettable years, embracing community journalism as a true way of life. I am very grateful for and appreciative of my friends and colleagues at Univisión, Miami, where I experienced significant personal and professional growth.”
“Above all, I want to thank our audience, the millions of Latino familes whom I’ve had the honor of serving throughout these years,” he added. “My unwavering commitment, past, present, and future, is to journalism that amplifies the voices and illuminates the stories of those who so often go unheard and unseen. That will remain my guiding principle. Until very soon.”
Krauze’s departure comes as The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that the network has shifted to covering Trump much more favorably under its new corporate leadership.
Last week’s interview with Trump, which was conducted by journalist Enrique Acevedo and reportedly arranged by his son-in-law Jared Kushner, did not ask the former president about immigration until the second half of the interview. It also avoided follow-ups and did not challenge Trump’s claims about building a border wall paid for by Mexico or that President Barack Obama started the practice of child separation at the border, the Post added.
Additionally, Biden campaign advertising spots scheduled to run during the Trump interview were reportedly canceled by Univision, as was an interview with the Biden team’s Hispanic media director Maca Casado to respond to Trump’s interview.
Univision said in a statement to the Post that it had been pursuing the Trump interview since 2015 and that it held “significant importance for our audience.” The network added that it was “delighted” that Acevedo, who has experience both in the U.S. and Mexico, had the opportunity to sit down one-on-one with Trump.
It also said that the company made the decision to “abstain from political advertising during the interview. “
“Similarly, there will be no Trump advertising during the President Biden interview we have been trying to secure for many months,” the network noted.
“I appreciate all your opinions about the interview with the former president #Trump,” Acevedo wrote on Twitter following the interview. “I’m a reporter and my job is to ask questions The prominence belongs to the information. Thanks to the great team @TeleUniCompany @nmas @UniNoticias for their great work.”
In 2016, Univision settled a $500 million lawsuit that was filed by Trump in response to the Spanish broadcaster’s decision to no longer air the Miss Universe pageant.
The Trump campaign also ejected the network’s anchor Jorge Ramos from an event in 2015, leading to a public back and forth between Trump and Ramos.
Univision merged with Grupo Televisa in 2021.
