The chairman of Univision, the largest Spanish language TV network in the United States, has contributed a whopping $7 million in support of Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the presidency, according to a report that examined the 2016 presidential campaign money trail. Neither Bernie Sanders nor Donald Trump has donors anywhere close to that range.
Haim Saban and his wife Cheryl, a women’s advocate and author, are reportedly “unabashed Clinton supporters” and the biggest donors to the Democrat front-runner. Their close ties to the Clintons have sparked criticism from Republicans who don’t trust the network to report on the 2016 presidential campaigns objectively.
Award-winning investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson interviewed Open Secrets reporter Will Tucker for this Sunday’s edition of “Full Measure,” which is broadcast on Sinclair stations Sunday morning and streams live online.
Tucker told Attkisson that Wall Street is the “number one donor industry” supporting Clinton, while her Priorities USA Action Super PAC takes in money from rich, liberal mega-donors like George Soros and Haim Saban.
“Haim Saban is the Chairman of a big media group,” said Tucker. “Saban and his wife have supported Hillary Clinton to the tune of 7 million dollars. Their giant media investment firm owns Univision. That’s the Spanish language TV network that cancelled plans to air Trump’s Miss U.S.A. pageant after he said he’d build a wall on Mexico’s border and crack down on illegal immigration.”
In contrast, Donald Trump’s and Bernie Sanders’ top donors gave $150,000 and $255,000, respectively.
“I think the data that we work with every day reflects kind of what people fear about the political system, Tucker told Attkisson. “It reflects that very few people have an outside influence over the federal political system in the United States.”
Saban has also donated approximately $25 million to the Clinton Foundation, where his wife Cheryl sits on the board of directors.
He has said it’s a dream of his to see Hillary Clinton elected. The week before Bill Clinton’s Univision appearance, Saban hosted a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton in California.
“As much as is needed,” Saban said in July when asked by Bloomberg Politics how much he’d give to the Clinton campaign. “I think she would be great for the country and great for the world.”
Earlier this year, Univision entered into a multi-year deal with Clinton “to promote the health, education and well-being of young children.” It is a partnership that seems a little too cozy between a major broadcaster and a presumptive nominee for president.
As part of an early childhood development campaign that she began last year, Clinton has signed on with Univision to promote “Pequeños y Valiosos” (Young and Valuable), a program to encourage Hispanic parents to develop their children’s language skills. Among other goals, the program wants to help close what is known as a “word gap,” the vocabulary differential between low-income children and their classmates. Clinton and Univision officials kicked off the program at an event in at a Head Start program in East Harlem.
It’s no wonder that many Republicans do not trust the network. According to Politico, they’re suspicious of Saban’s ties to the Clintons.
“Based on what we’ve seen so far, said Ken Oliver-Méndez, director of the conservative-leaning Media Research Center’s Latino division. “The extremely solicitous and practically acritical coverage Hillary Clinton has been receiving from Univision so far stands in stark contrast with the consistently tough coverage Republicans like Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul have been receiving on the network in recent weeks.”
Haim Saban may have a dream of seeing Hillary Clinton elected president, but he should keep in mind that a few other big donors had the same dream to see Jeb Bush become the president, and their money didn’t amount to a hill of beans.
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