Hillary Clinton’s newly-minted national political director, Amanda Rentería, was the subject of a laughingstock of a debut interview this week on Telemundo, the nation’s second largest Spanish-language network.
In response to the interview’s one-and-only question, on Hillary Clinton’s new immigration policy, Rentería essentially offered 12 seconds of gibberish to Noticiero Telemundo anchor María Celeste Arrarás.
AMANDA RENTERIA: You can see we’re here, the first trip to the West. We’re here talking with the young people. That is different than any candidate before.
And with that, Arrarás thanked Rentería, who comes to the Clinton campaign after losing her own race for Congress last year, and the interview was over.
No probing follow-up question, much less any question about the flurry of financial and ethical controversies now swirling around Rentería’s candidate, in relation to the Clinton Foundation.
In fact, Telemundo’s national evening newscast has yet to even mention the #ClintonCash scandal, which all the other major broadcast networks, including its principal Spanish-language competitor, Univision, have covered during the past several weeks.
The interview looked like a shoddy attempt at public relations for Rentería and the Clinton campaign. In terms of substance, however, Rentería’s debut was anything but auspicious.
Below are the translated and original portions of the referenced segment of Noticiero Telemundo:
English Translation:
MARIA CELESTE ARRARÁS: We are now connected, from Las Vegas, with Amanda Rentería. Amanda, we know that Hillary Clinton believes in a comprehensive reform, in something important for Latinos. She as a candidate understands that she has a situation that is quite complex. Because the Hispanic public voted for President Obama, and expected immediate action. And now she has this precedent, which things did not happen with the speed that the Hispanic community wanted. How is she going to handle all this?
AMANDA RENTERÍA: You can see we’re here, the first trip to the West. We’re here talking with the young people. That is different than any candidate before.
MARIA CELESTE ARRARÁS: Many thanks, Amanda Rentería, from Las Vegas.
Español Original:
MARIA CELESTE ARRARÁS: Ya estamos enlazados, desde Las Vegas, con Amanda Rentería. Amanda, sabemos que Hillary Clinton cree en una reforma integral, en algo importante para los latinos. Ella como candidata entiende que tiene una situación bastante compleja. Porque el público hispano, votó por el presidente Obama y esperaba acción inmediata. Y ahora ella tiene este precedente, de que las cosas no pasaron con la rapidez que la comunidad hispana quería. ¿Cómo ella va a manejar todo eso?
AMANDA RENTERÍA: Puedes mirar que estamos aquí, al primer viaje al oeste. Estamos aquí hablando con los jóvenes. Eso es diferente de cualquier candidato antes.
MARIA CELESTE ARRARÁS: Muchas gracias Amanda Rentería desde Las Vegas. Ahora regresamos con José a nuestros estudios en Miami.
