There are currently so many Democrats running for president of the Untied States that the debates had to be split in two. So who stood out the most at the first one on Wednesday night? It depends by what you mean “stood out.” Elizabeth Warren was her usual clear, confident, knowledgeable self. Julián Castro proved more forceful and charismatic than he has till now. But if you’re looking for what goes viral, then the big stand-out was Cory Booker’s face when the exceedingly well-meaning Beto O’Rouke suddenly began speaking Spanish.
O’Rourke — who earned a name for nearly toppling Ted Cruz from his Texas Senate seat — was asked a relatively dull question: whether he supports a 70 percent tax on Americans whose annual income is more than $10 million.
The relatively young (well, 46) businessman-politician started his response in English. “Right now we have a system that favors those who can pay for access and outcomes,” O’Rourke said. “That’s how you can explain an economy that is rigged to corporations and to the very wealthiest.”
O’Rourke — who hails from El Paso, near the border, but is of Irish-American descent — then repeated his response in Spanish.
On one level, kudos! O’Rourke was one of three Democratic presidential aspirants who spoke multiple languages. (The sitting commander-in-chief can barely speak one.) On the other, it could be interpreted as a little jarring, perhaps wincingly overachieving. Booker was one person who seemed a bit taken aback by his linguistic gymnastics. Others felt likewise.
https://twitter.com/mattklewis/status/1144049489919057920
Booker and Warren's faces while Beto is speaking Spanish 😯 pic.twitter.com/XUsZefGysf
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 27, 2019
Booker's face though pic.twitter.com/fK8FG5E4zi
— Steph Auerbach (@StephLauren) June 27, 2019
omg Booker’s face when Beto busted out the Spanish pic.twitter.com/O4oY4HowWK
— andi zeisler (@andizeisler) June 27, 2019
[spanish] pic.twitter.com/oxy9zRUIm8
— David Mack (@davidmackau) June 27, 2019
Cory Booker trying to translate Beto’s Spanish 🤣🤣 #DemocraticDebate pic.twitter.com/NvNFQ9loOr
— Aaron Levine (@AaronLevine_) June 27, 2019
Booker as Beto speaks in Spanish pic.twitter.com/pVYL3p0cun
— Tim Mak (@timkmak) June 27, 2019
https://twitter.com/FullFrontalSamB/status/1144049948557807617
When Dad says "Hola, como estas?" to the waiter at the Mexican restaurant #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/64FY2LV6kp
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) June 27, 2019
Cory Booker's face while Beto O'Rourke speaks in Spanish LMAO pic.twitter.com/9aaPALihfC
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) June 27, 2019
absolutely no one at the democratic debates:
beto: pic.twitter.com/eA8PMkmeHc— Jill Gutowitz (@jillboard) June 27, 2019
Others were suspicious of O’Rourke’s motives.
https://twitter.com/TomNamako/status/1144050054602416128
Moderator: *asks Beto a specific question about policy.
Beto: “uh lemme just do half of this in Español and hope they forget.”
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) June 27, 2019
Beto avoiding answering the question like
#DemocraticDebate pic.twitter.com/X8gZ4oP4EM
— Pat Kane (@realpatkane) June 27, 2019
https://twitter.com/semioclastia/status/1144050225121779712
For the record, The Hill pointed out that Booker proudly speaks the language.
Ecuador is where I did my immersion Spanish language study. Lived with a family and really improved my abilidad. https://t.co/jULwOUcrSd
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) June 16, 2016
Still, it was fun to imagine what was going through Booker’s head.
https://twitter.com/CMoukazis/status/1144052297372246021
When you’re out at brunch with your friends and someone says “Damn, who ordered gratuity?” #DemDebate #DebateNight pic.twitter.com/HZ9NW4BFFH
— Evil Fitness Barbie (@bgg2wl) June 27, 2019
https://twitter.com/mj_haning/status/1144052141121835008
https://twitter.com/NM_Che56/status/1144050294952800256