Romney’s Univision interview triggers social media storm

July 31, 2016

By Katrine Dermody

US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney arrives on stage to take part in Univision’s show ‘Gran Encuentro’ with moderators Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas in Miami on September 19, 2012.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Wednesday answered questions in a live forum hosted by the Spanish-language Univision network.

Student supporters in the audience at the University of Miami cheered as Romney responded in English to Spanish-language questions about immigration, education, health care, jobs and the economy. And while the audience appeared supportive of the Republican candidate, many of Romney's comments regarding hot-button issues, as well as his conveniently bronze appearence, triggered a not-so-calm social media storm in the wake of the forum.

The event, which was co-hosted by Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas, was co-sponsored by Facebook and broadcast live online in Spanish and English in the evening and aired on Univision later Wednesday night.

Ramos and Salinas asked the tough questions, Romney answered them, and below, viewers and voters reacted:

More from GlobalPost: Latino TV grills Obama for failed immigration reform

Univision Presidential Forum: Mitt Romney

Storified by GlobalPost · Thu, Sep 20 2012 13:22:06

AT)Banner Plane Over Miami Romney’s Miami Univision Forum: ‘Hey Mitt: We’re Voters, Not Victims’ (PHOTO) http://ow.ly/1OvXkwTrina Cuppett

Romney courageous to stick to his guns about the 47% http://fxn.ws/RzteEe Sticks to jobs, Oppty & not Dream Act pander @ Univision #tcotNorsu

#UnivisionForum #MittRomney claims he is slow to answer as he needs to wait for translation. Yeah, right!Gonzalo Casals

Gov Romney, Spanish is not a ‘foreign’ language to millions of Latin American immigrants.Its also the language of opportunity! #UnivisionMariana Atencio

Soundtracks matter. And the enthusiastic applause alone, along with Romney’s cool delivery, will make Univision forum a win for himMarc Caputo

The crowd is pretty supportive of Romney and #Univision is pushing pretty hard on the immigration/DREAM Act issue.Internet Terrorist

#Decision2012, Univision forum Romney in favor of temporary work permits, against massive raids, but avoids clear position on Dream Act.Catherine Benamou

Romney wants a "permanent solution" on immigration. Won’t say what it is. #univisionforumJoe Gravellese

Mitt Romney’s normal complexion:

undefinedUvnimg

Mitt Romney appears more tan at the Univision Forum:

Romney’s #TrumpTan for his visit to Univision is the ultimate in condescension. Mitt doesn’t tan! Ever. #p2 #tcot http://pic.twitter.com/DKdyjfK9Mattison

Hat tip to the folks at @Gawker for this little twist:

undefinedGawkerassets

Republican presidential candidate Gov. Mitt Romney stepped up efforts to woo #LatinoVoters Wednesday in a forum… http://dlvr.it/2BX3Z7Fort Worth For Obama

DREAM Act: Mitt Romney still calls DREAMers ‘illegal aliens’ at Univision’s Latino Forum: http://wtim.es/S9TEuB via @wtcommunitiesStephanie De Luna

#DREAMAct: @MittRomney still calls DREAMers ‘illegal aliens’ at Univision’s Latino Forum http://bit.ly/S9TMKI http://fb.me/20RVDryyQProgressiveMuckraker

#Romney calls himself "grandfather of ObamaCare" at Latino forum http://bit.ly/PEoY2b #ACA #PaidSickDays #WOW #fem2 #immigrationWinter_Thur

Romney to Univision: "Obama sometimes says I’m the grandfather of Obamacare. I don’t think he means that as a compliment, but I’ll take it."Eric

Watch: Highlights from Romney’s forum at the University of Miami with Univision http://htl.li/2si3yvElection News

Will you support The World?

The story you just read is accessible and free to all because thousands of listeners and readers contribute to our nonprofit newsroom. We go deep to bring you the human-centered international reporting that you know you can trust. To do this work and to do it well, we rely on the support of our listeners. If you appreciated our coverage this year, if there was a story that made you pause or a song that moved you, would you consider making a gift to sustain our work through 2024 and beyond?