In his first appearance as Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential running mate, Tim Kaine addressed a largely Hispanic crowd in both English and Spanish. While many have praised Kaine for his historic inclusiveness, not everyone responded positively.
For some inexplicable reason, CNN gave conservative political commentator Scottie Nell Hughes a platform to express her disdain for actually trying to include Hispanics rather than Donald Trump’s strategy of blaming them for America’s problems. In her most bizarre and offensive statement, she referenced Dora the Explorer, a children’s cartoon starring a Hispanic girl who often speaks Spanish:
“I didn’t have to get a translator for anything that was going on at the RNC this week. And I’m hoping I’m not going to have to start kind of brushing up on my Dora the Explorer to understand some of the speeches given this week.”
Hughes claimed that Kaine was dividing Americans by speaking Spanish, arguing that the Republican policy of looking out for “all Americans” brings the country together. By “all Americans,” she is referring to white people with intense racial resentment, the group that has taken over the Republican Party. Hughes even highlighted that Republicans would benefit from the racist response to Kaine’s bilingual speech, though she put it in nicer terms.
Though many liberals called Hughes out on Twitter, many conservatives defended her, agreeing that Trump was keeping Republicans united by speaking English, while the Clinton campaign is dividing Americans by including Spanish speakers. Hughes nonetheless went to Twitter later to apologize for her statement, but her clear display of racism on national television cannot be erased by 26 words.
I never meant 2 cause hurt rather attempt 2 reference a cute tool I learned/taught Spanish 2 my own children obviously failed. I was wrong
— Scottie Nell Hughes (@scottienhughes) July 23, 2016
Unsurprisingly, Donald Trump has also criticized candidates for speaking Spanish, saying that Jeb Bush, the only immigrant-friendly Republican candidate, “should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States.”
Univision’s Blanca Rosa Vílchez explained why Tim Kaine’s speech is so significant for this election:
“He put emphasis on the issue of immigration. A speech that contrasts with Donald Trump’s speech on Thursday in Cleveland who said 21 times that illegal immigration is the main cause of this country’s problems.”
Albert Morales, former head of the Hispanic affairs office for the Democratic National Committee, made a similar statement:
“This is the first presidential election where Spanish-language media is following it nonstop. Even eight years ago, people were engaged, but there was no boogeyman. For the first time we have a motivating factor and it’s important that we have a person on the ticket who can articulate that message to the Jorge Ramos’ and the Jose Diaz-Balart’s. It’s about respect.”
Watch Tim Kaine’s full speech here:
