Over the last two years, we’ve watched Donald Trump’s dangerous war on the press escalate. Earlier this month, he was called out for demeaning and degrading black female reporters—going so far as to call one’s questions “stupid” and even insulting another as a “loser.” But because he’s a bully all-around (and a narcissist who can’t take any kind of criticism), we know that his ire isn’t just reserved for black women journalists. For example, his treatment of CNN’s Jim Acosta has been nothing short of deplorable which is why CNN has gone to court over the right for Acosta to simply do his job. Indeed, Trump has issue with any media coverage that doesn’t suck up to him and lie about his accomplishments—aka basically any network or reporter that doesn’t represent Fox News (and even Fox News joined other outlets in supporting CNN in that lawsuit).
However, let us remember, that Trump’s attack on the First Amendment and free press didn’t begin after his inauguration. Back in the summer of 2015, when Trump was on the campaign trail, he first kicked Univision’s Jorge Ramos (arguably the station’s most well-known and esteemed anchor) out of a press conference when Ramos pressed him on his racist stance on immigration. He had a security guard physically escort Ramos out and then lied and said Ramos was “screaming” at him.
Not a single journalist came to Ramos’s defense, instead choosing to highlight how Trump was deviating from the norms we’d come to accept from politicians. Three years later, we understand that nothing about Trump or his presidency is normal. And we also know that we must respect and protect the role of the free press in our democracy—now more than ever.
For his part, Jorge Ramos is still doing his job three years later. He continues to anchor for Univision and Fusion and has a new show called Real America with Jorge Ramos. The show posts its videos on its Facebook page. Recently, Ramos sat down with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to talk about gender equality, taking risks, and other issues that are impacting Americans. It’s certainly worth a watch and can be accessed by clicking here.
But for a quick 45 second hit of entertainment and joy, watch Ramos interviewing Sotomayor back in 2013. He asks her if she likes to dance and she shows off her salsa moves.
While we certainly wouldn’t enjoy seeing him dance (because, let’s face it, we pretty much only want to see him in handcuffs), it would be nice if Donald Trump could take a cue from Justice Sotomayor. Interviews with public figures should be cordial—even when they are tough. And it’s nice when they reveal more of the humanity of those in power. Donald Trump doesn’t know how to do his job or interact with the press. He’s the worst thing ever to happen to the presidency and the biggest, most recent threat to a free press. But luckily, those folks keep doing their jobs. Though, we are in an era of claims of “fake news” and trolling from Russian hackers, we should still be grateful that we have professional journalists like Jorge Ramos and others who keep at it, in spite of what Trump throws their way.