León Krauze, one of the most prominent anchors at Univision‘s news division, has left the network in the wake of a controversial interview with former President Donald Trump that took place last week and has spurred concerns among journalists at the company that the Spanish-language media giant is no longer challenging Republican politicians.
Krauze, who spent a significant chunk of his career anchoring Univision’s KMEX weeknight news program, became co-anchor of the the company’s national late-night news program “Noticiero Univision Edición Nocturna” in January of 2022.
Democrats were alarmed by the interview, which wasn’t as confrontational as exchanges the news division has had with Republican politicians in the past. The Washington Post reported earlier this week that Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, helped arrange the event. The Latino vote is highly desired by both parties and seen in some sectors as being up for grabs in the 2024 election, with some parts of the U.S. Spanish-speaking population showing favor for Trump and Republicans in recent elections.
Grupo Televisa, the Mexican media company that merged with Univision in 2021, has been known for cultivating relationships with political leaders in Mexico.
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“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, without elaborating on the reasons for his departure. “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.”
One person familiar with the company suggested Krauze’s departure could be tied to layoffs within the merged entity.
But the anchor made no allusions to such dynamics in a statement he released Wednesday evening. “I want to thank our audience, the millions of Latino families whom I’ve had the honor of serving throughout these years,” he said. “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.”
