Both nights of Democratic primary debates saw heated discussions from 10 presidential candidates (20 in total) on policy and politics, but some of the more memorable moments were the ones not spoken in English. Three candidates — Representative Beto O’Rourke, Senator Cory Booker, and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro — broke into Spanish during the first night of the debate, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg showed off his Spanish skills the second night. But who won the Spanish debate? And which candidates could use a little more practice?
Watch the clips below and see how our Spanish language experts graded each candidate’s performance.
Representative Beto O’Rourke
Thoughts on Beto O’Rourke answering his first question tonight partly in Spanish:
“It’s one way to stand out right away.” – @natashakorecki
“Felt gimmicky to me right out of the gate.” – @PoliticoCharlie
More analysis in our live chat: https://t.co/u73nMVOVMG pic.twitter.com/ILKs9eLQO8
— POLITICO (@politico) June 27, 2019
Our Grade: B
What We Thought: “He’s basically repeating the same thing over and over, but it’s not that bad. It’s a good try!”
Other Languages The Candidate Speaks: English (native)
Senator Cory Booker
WATCH: Booker responds in Spanish when asked what he would do with immigration on Day 1 as president. pic.twitter.com/LMbFpn79Ck
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 27, 2019
Our Grade: C
What We Thought: “I don’t know what he was trying to say — it sounds like he’s saying words that don’t exist.”
Other Languages The Candidate Speaks: English (native)
Secretary Julián Castro
Me llamo Julián Castro y me estoy postulando para Presidente de Los Estados Unidos. #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/wMKFC5JjpF
— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) June 27, 2019
Our Grade: A-
What We Thought: “He made one grammatical mistake. He sounds confident with good pronunciation, but he also didn’t say that much.”
Other Languages The Candidate Speaks: English (native — though he grew up with a Spanish-speaking grandmother)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg
In his first 10 seconds, Buttigieg spoke Spanish and mentioned his husband, Chasten, while saying he believes in free college for poor and middle-class Americans #DemDebate2 pic.twitter.com/zTji45Ah2e
— TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) June 28, 2019
Our Grade: B
What We Thought: “It sounds ok, but it was very short so hard to know for sure.”
Other Languages The Candidate Speaks: English (native), Norwegian, Italian, Maltese, Arabic, Dari, and French