Spanish Spoken During White House Briefing For First Time

The White House made history on Monday. And it wasn't just by loosening travel and remittance restrictions for individuals looking to reach out to family members in Cuba.

When Dan Restrepo, President Barack Obama's senior adviser on Latin America, addressed the Spanish-language media in their native tongues, he is believed to have been the first person to speak a language other than English during a White House briefing.

Restrepo, formerly of the Center for American Progress, used two languages on Monday -- fielding questions from the American and foreign press. On several occasions he offered the same answer twice, catering to, for instance, the Latin American television crews that couldn't broadcast important policy announcements in English.

Later in the briefing, with Restrepo gone, press secretary Robert Gibbs was asked if history had just been made. Pleading a bit of ignorance, he turned to CBS Radio White House correspondent Mark Knoller, the unofficial White House press historian. Knoller said he could not remember ever hearing a foreign language spoken from the podium during a White House briefing. Asked later by the Huffington Post how long he had been on the beat, Knoller said, "nonstop since 1992 and on and off since the end of Ford, '76."

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Comments

[MarionWatts]

05:58 AM on 04/15/2009

Andale.

Here's one product of the US education system of the Sixties and Seventies who's glad she studied her Spanish. I've been speaking it regularly in my daily job here in the UK for over twenty years. I'll be prepared when I come home.

[mikesw]

09:55 PM on 04/14/2009

Lou Dobbs popped a hemorrhoid when I heard this...

[levee]

01:31 PM on 04/14/2009

What are they talking about? I distinctly remember Bush speaking Spanish. He said, "taquitos? no taquitos. chimichanga and chili con carne."

I don't know what it means, but I remember he said it to this guy on the side of the stage who was wearing an apron.

you know people don't give him enough credit. He is from texas, you know.

[truegreen]

01:13 PM on 04/14/2009

i get bored seeing the same cast of actors in the MSM at White House press briefings.

[Countdown09]

01:06 PM on 04/14/2009

The anti immigrant far right wing nuts are going to lose what's left of their minds over this.

[kid5rivers2]

01:02 PM on 04/14/2009

Good lawd! So, she had to cut in while the Spanish portion of the briefing was happening? Sheesh! Jinny!

[Peter727]

12:30 PM on 04/14/2009

It would seem as if most misinterpreted the article. The reason for speaking in Spanish was for Latin American broadcasts OUTSIDE of the United States. Many foreign media broadcast news concerning the United States (which is hardly ever reciprocated, barring some natural disaster or something to that effect). So yes, it would make sense to speak in another language. When an American travels to abroad, why is it expected for the rest of the world to speak English? It is that sense of entitlement which causes resentment amongst foreigners towards American citizens.

[TakingBackTheUSA]

12:08 PM on 04/14/2009

The tR0LLs and right wing nationalists are going to go bonkers over this....

Can't wait to see what kind of cr@zy response this will bring from them. They'll probably try to mail frozen burritos to the white house in protest, or something equally igno rant.

[ptfcNassoc]

11:57 AM on 04/14/2009

Attention confused tr0lls: It was translated not just for spanish speaking people in the US but the rest of latin america. No one is saying that immigrants should come here and completely not know English. They should learn English only because that makes the most practical sense since this is a majority English speaking country, no one is saying spanish speaking immigrants should just be chilling in Kansas or something not know how to speak a lick of English and that is okay. But we need to stop be so arrogant in thinking English is the only language (or in some cases the "official" language) of the US because its not. Though English is the dominate language I find it illogical to get your panties all in a bunge because another language was spoken at the white house as if there was some type of social contract that was broken. With so many languages in this country and none of them being the official language there's nothing "wrong" with NOT speaking English other then that its less practical in most cases (calm down red n.ecks).

[mendelcrosses]

10:29 AM on 04/14/2009

To all those who are gonna go on a rampage,if really English is meant to be the only language spoken in the USA.how come then G W Bush was president? How did Sarah palin managed to run for VP?

[luckylily88]

10:19 AM on 04/14/2009

that's fantastic. living in a state with a hispanic majority, it's good to see that they're getting more credit. spanish is the second most common language in this country, and it's about time that we acknowledge that.

[SteveDenver]

09:54 AM on 04/14/2009

Woo-hoo! I began studying Spanish a couple of years ago as a way to augment my employment skills, and it was a very wise move. We are part of the WORLD and communication equals success. I am thrilled that Spanish-speaking media has been respected. Now if only Spanish-language programming offered English subtitles, we could begin to see a real crossover of media and culture in a common and recognizable form. (Plus, I want to understand what those crazy game shows are about. I speak and write Spanish, but not that quickly.)

[Aline Binette]

09:48 AM on 04/14/2009

It's simply polite to speak to reporters in a way they can understand and the news will be reported without annoying translation.

You see a symbol where there is none.

[hortonhearsawho2]

09:51 AM on 04/14/2009

exactamundo....

[hortonhearsawho2]

09:48 AM on 04/14/2009

For the bible thumping likes: what language does god speak....

[joycehelene]

09:46 AM on 04/14/2009

It's about time, so many of our citizens speak Spanish, go to Europe and most of the people there speak a few different languages and English is always one of them. It is about time that we also started to do that, there is nothing sacred about English only.

[MarionWatts]

06:05 AM on 04/15/2009

I work in an industry in the UK which has daily contacts with Europe. I'm employed to speak to their French, Spanish and Italian clientele in their own languages. Every person with whom I speak on the phone and via e-mail is perfectly capable of speaking English and speaking it very well; but they're amazed and pleased that someone from the English office is making an effort to speak their language. I think the US has to be made aware that we are part of a larger world, in which international travel and dealings is very easy. The key is to engage. Learning a foreign lanuage isn't just learning how to conjugate a few words. It's learning the culture and mindset of another people. It's learning how to understand and appreciate their way of life, as opposed to crude stereotypes. I was preaching this method to my 8th graders in the late Seventies when I was teaching French and Spanish in Fauquier County, Virginia.