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Univision President Apologizes for Comparing Donald Trump to Murderer

UPDATE: Trump: 'Apology not accepted'

June 26, 2015

Univision President Alberto Ciurana apologized early Friday morning for comparing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to Dylann Roof, the man who murdered nine in an attack on a African-American church in Charleston, S.C.

Ciurana's Instagram post likening Trump to Roof came just after the racially motivated attack, and also after Trump's announcement speech which angered many in the Mexican community. Ciurana has since deleted the post, but the Washington Free Beacon captured an image of it before he did so.

Univision did not respond to a Washington Free Beacon request for comment for its initial report on Ciurana's picture, but senior director of corporate communications Carolina Valencia sent along a link on Friday to an apology posted to Ciurana's Instragram account.

"I'm Mexican who was very upset by Mr Trump's recent comments about Mexican immigrants, but I should not have re-posted the photo," wrote Ciurana on the post.

Trump did not accept Ciurana's apology and continued his call for Ciurana's resignation.

"Apology not accepted," Trump said in a statement. "I call for his resignation as president of Univision and Univision should not be allowed to host the Presidential debate. It is a total conflict of interest."

The fued between Trump and Univision extends beyond Ciurana. On Thursday, the network announced it would be cutting all ties with Miss Universe because of Trump's involvement in the pageant.

Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen says Trump will be suing Univision both for breach of contract and for defamation. Cohen also told the Free Beacon that he believes Ciurana should resign from his position at Univision for the Roof comparison.

"It was a totally insensitive act and I would call for his immediate resignation from Univision," said Cohen on Thursday.

Also raised into question by Cohen is whether Univision could be a fair host for Republican candidates in its announced forum, which it will co-host with the Washington Post, given its clear animosity towards Trump, who is currently polling among the top candidates in key states.

"I do not feel that Ciurana or his network should be entitled to host any political debate," said Cohen.

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Update 2:10 P.M.: This article was updated to include comment from Donald Trump.

Published under: 2016 Election , Univision