Business mogul Donald Trump is not backing down after a tense encounter with Univision journalist Jorge Ramos, who was at one point ejected from a news conference Tuesday night while trying to ask the Republican presidential candidate a question about immigration reform.
Ramos was escorted out of a news conference Tuesday after Trump accused him of behaving inappropriately by asking a question without being called on. "I'm a reporter, an immigrant, a senior citizen," he said. "I have the right to ask a question,” Ramos responded.
"Go back to Univision," Trump interrupted.
The tense exchange drew an immediate firestorm, with Trump’s critics accusing the business mogul of looking to silence one of the country’s most prominent voices on immigration reform. Ramos is a high-profile figure among Spanish speakers in the United States and abroad.
“The room was packed with thousands of people…. And he gets up and just starts ranting and raving. And very disrespectful to all the other reporters that had questions also,” Trump said.
Lauer also asked Trump about his ongoing feud with Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, whom Trump has frequently criticized since the first GOP primary debate. Following the event, Trump accused Kelly of being unprofessional and overly aggressive in her questioning.
"You know what? It starts to sound a little bit — and take this in the right way, Donald — like you're a guy with a schoolyard crush. When we’re in elementary school and junior high school, guys often say the meanest things about the girls they like the most," Lauer told Trump.
"Trust me, Matt, there is no crush,” Trump said. “That I can tell you.”