Donald Trump’s unexpected gains among Hispanic voters in the 2024 presidential race can be traced back to son-in-law Jared Kushner’s connections with two powerful Mexican media executives who helped secure him a pivotal interview on Univision. According to The Wall Street Journal, the move left insiders at the network stunned.
Journalists Santiago Pérez and José de Córdoba reported that Alfonso de Angoitia and Bernardo Gómez, media tycoons with deep influence at Grupo Televisa — known for its global success with telenovelas — leveraged their longstanding ties to Kushner to facilitate Trump’s high-profile appearance. The interview, conducted by anchor Enrique Acevedo, marked a strategic breakthrough for Trump in reaching Hispanic voters.
The Journal explained that at the time, TelevisaUnivision’s leadership feared a decline in “clout and access to newsmakers,” prompting a board-driven shift toward more centrist news coverage. This shift coincided with Trump’s campaign efforts to attract Hispanic voters, traditionally a stronghold for Democrats.
Given that “a quarter of Hispanics prefer to get their news from Spanish-language media,” Trump’s Univision appearance offered him access to an audience largely untouched by previous Republican campaigns.
“The Trump interview, conducted by news anchor Enrique Acevedo, made news across the U.S.,” the report noted. “Trump discussed the possibility of the Justice Department prosecuting political opponents and defended family separation as a deterrent against illegal immigration. For network executives, the interview demonstrated TelevisaUnivision’s new reach into the U.S. mainstream.”
However, the interview’s fallout within the network was significant. “Inside TelevisaUnivision’s Miami studio, the newsroom was shocked,” the report stated. Trump’s appearance on Univision transformed the former president — once known for inflammatory remarks about Mexican migrants — into a candidate Hispanic voters might seriously consider.
Acevedo, who faced criticism from colleagues for not challenging Trump more forcefully, defended his approach. “You don’t make news by confronting Trump,” he argued.
The strategy paid off for Trump’s campaign. TelevisaUnivision’s leadership reportedly saw measurable shifts in Hispanic voter sentiment following the interview. “The numbers signaled a shift in voter intention toward Trump,” the report concluded, underscoring the significant impact of Kushner’s connections and the network’s evolving approach to political coverage.
Ultimately, the interview marked a turning point for Trump, proving that outreach to Hispanic voters through key media platforms could yield surprising political dividends.