SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The White House's Spanish-language website has been down since January 20, 2017. (Photo: WhiteHouse.gov)
Latinos Say Lack of Spanish-Language Outreach by White House Speaks Volumes
Trump has expressed a mix of disinterest and aggression toward Spanish-speaking community, advocates say
Jul 03, 2017
With the Spanish-language version of the White House website gone and a Twitter account that sits largely dormant, Latino and other Spanish-speaking Americans are criticizing the Trump administration for what looks like intentional neglect and overt indifference to their communities.
More than five months into Trump's presidency, the White House's Spanish Twitter account, @LaCasaBlanca, has tweeted only 41 times. More than half of the account's communications have been written in English.
\u201cOn Cuban Independence Day @POTUS extended warmest wishes to Cuban Americans & all Cubans who yearn for freedom. https://t.co/znxTnQks8n\u201d— La Casa Blanca 45 Archived (@La Casa Blanca 45 Archived) 1495401904
\u201cWhite House is mostly ignoring Spanish speakers in official communications https://t.co/lMgaRZi4De\u201d— Los Angeles Times (@Los Angeles Times) 1499047229
The lack of engagement with Spanish-speaking Americans doesn't stop at Twitter. While the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations offered robust Spanish-language versions of the White House website, WhiteHouse.gov/espanol went dark just after Trump was inaugurated, and the Trump White House has yet to unveil the new website.
The White House also no longer employs a director of Hispanic media outreach, as it did in previous administrations. Luis Miranda served in the position during Barack Obama's presidency.
"For us it was important that all of our constituents across the board were getting as much information as possible about what we were doing," Miranda told the Associated Press.
The apparent disinterest in the needs of Spanish-speaking Americans follows a presidential campaign that featured aggressive anti-immigration rhetoric from Trump. The president infamously cast Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug dealers in his speech announcing that he was running in the 2016 election.
He also criticized one of his opponents in the Republican primary, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, for occasionally speaking Spanish on the campaign trail.
"[Bush] should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States," argued Trump at the time.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
With the Spanish-language version of the White House website gone and a Twitter account that sits largely dormant, Latino and other Spanish-speaking Americans are criticizing the Trump administration for what looks like intentional neglect and overt indifference to their communities.
More than five months into Trump's presidency, the White House's Spanish Twitter account, @LaCasaBlanca, has tweeted only 41 times. More than half of the account's communications have been written in English.
\u201cOn Cuban Independence Day @POTUS extended warmest wishes to Cuban Americans & all Cubans who yearn for freedom. https://t.co/znxTnQks8n\u201d— La Casa Blanca 45 Archived (@La Casa Blanca 45 Archived) 1495401904
\u201cWhite House is mostly ignoring Spanish speakers in official communications https://t.co/lMgaRZi4De\u201d— Los Angeles Times (@Los Angeles Times) 1499047229
The lack of engagement with Spanish-speaking Americans doesn't stop at Twitter. While the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations offered robust Spanish-language versions of the White House website, WhiteHouse.gov/espanol went dark just after Trump was inaugurated, and the Trump White House has yet to unveil the new website.
The White House also no longer employs a director of Hispanic media outreach, as it did in previous administrations. Luis Miranda served in the position during Barack Obama's presidency.
"For us it was important that all of our constituents across the board were getting as much information as possible about what we were doing," Miranda told the Associated Press.
The apparent disinterest in the needs of Spanish-speaking Americans follows a presidential campaign that featured aggressive anti-immigration rhetoric from Trump. The president infamously cast Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug dealers in his speech announcing that he was running in the 2016 election.
He also criticized one of his opponents in the Republican primary, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, for occasionally speaking Spanish on the campaign trail.
"[Bush] should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States," argued Trump at the time.
With the Spanish-language version of the White House website gone and a Twitter account that sits largely dormant, Latino and other Spanish-speaking Americans are criticizing the Trump administration for what looks like intentional neglect and overt indifference to their communities.
More than five months into Trump's presidency, the White House's Spanish Twitter account, @LaCasaBlanca, has tweeted only 41 times. More than half of the account's communications have been written in English.
\u201cOn Cuban Independence Day @POTUS extended warmest wishes to Cuban Americans & all Cubans who yearn for freedom. https://t.co/znxTnQks8n\u201d— La Casa Blanca 45 Archived (@La Casa Blanca 45 Archived) 1495401904
\u201cWhite House is mostly ignoring Spanish speakers in official communications https://t.co/lMgaRZi4De\u201d— Los Angeles Times (@Los Angeles Times) 1499047229
The lack of engagement with Spanish-speaking Americans doesn't stop at Twitter. While the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations offered robust Spanish-language versions of the White House website, WhiteHouse.gov/espanol went dark just after Trump was inaugurated, and the Trump White House has yet to unveil the new website.
The White House also no longer employs a director of Hispanic media outreach, as it did in previous administrations. Luis Miranda served in the position during Barack Obama's presidency.
"For us it was important that all of our constituents across the board were getting as much information as possible about what we were doing," Miranda told the Associated Press.
The apparent disinterest in the needs of Spanish-speaking Americans follows a presidential campaign that featured aggressive anti-immigration rhetoric from Trump. The president infamously cast Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug dealers in his speech announcing that he was running in the 2016 election.
He also criticized one of his opponents in the Republican primary, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, for occasionally speaking Spanish on the campaign trail.
"[Bush] should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States," argued Trump at the time.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.