This post was written by Hatchet reporters Aishvarya Kavi and Brandon Bish
Journalist Jorge Ramos visited Jack Morton Auditorium Thursday morning to discuss activism, politics and his recent confrontation with presidential hopeful Donald Trump.
At a press conference with Trump last month, Ramos, a news anchor on the Spanish-language television program Univision, stood up and began asking a question about immigration reform when Trump told him to sit down and called on another reporter.
When Frank Sesno, the director of the School of Media and Public Affairs, mentioned how critics have accused Ramos of overstepping his role as a journalist into the realm of activism, Ramos said it is necessary to ask tough questions.
“As a journalist, it’s not only appropriate, but it is your duty to challenge those who are in power when it comes to discrimination, racism, corruption, public lies, dictatorships or human rights,” Ramos said.
Ramos, who was born and raised in Mexico, said that with 60 million Latinos in the United States, candidates in the 2016 presidential election will need support from a majority of the Latino community to win.
He added that the only two Latino candidates, Republicans Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, who both have parents that immigrated from Cuba, should be defending other immigrants.
When Sesno questioned what Ramos would ask Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, Ramos said he would be equally tough on her.
“Our role is not to support any candidate, our role is to question every single candidate,” he said.
Attending the event was celebrity chef José Andrés, who backed out of plans to open a restaurant in Trump’s upcoming D.C. hotel in July because of Trump’s comments about immigrants.
Ramos, who called Andrés “a very brave man,” asked him to come on stage and speak about immigration reform for undocumented immigrants. Andrés briefly discussed how immigrants that work in the U.S. should be legalized so they can be paid for their work.
Toward the end of the conversation, Ramos was asked what advice he would give to aspiring journalists.
“Don’t shut up, don’t sit down and don’t get out,” he said. “Just speak up.”