Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign is under fire for her attempt to target Spanish-speaking voters by claiming she’s like “your abuela,” or grandmother.
On Monday, Clinton’s campaign published a listicle, “7 things Hillary Clinton has in common with your abuela,” which included traits like “She knows what’s best,” and “She reacts this way when people le faltan el respeto.”
But Latino critics haven’t taken kindly to it, sparking the trending Twitter hashtag #NotMyAbuela.
Hillary is #NotMyAbuela
— 𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚌 𝚙𝚒𝚡𝚒𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕 🍉 (@mathewrodriguez) December 22, 2015
#NotMyAbuela — This is when you know no women of color were in the room. No one to say, “Hill, girl, no. Nah.”
— Kirsten West Savali (@KWestSavali) December 23, 2015
No, no, no, Hillary. Not today. 😉🏀 #NotMyAbuela pic.twitter.com/EkhTPv8VZX
— Jeff Barrett (@BarrettAll) December 23, 2015
#Hispandering aside, @AskAngy summarizes why young voters are so much more informed than given credit. #NotMyAbuela https://t.co/Tkuk8g4fUb
— Julio Ricardo Varela (@julito77) December 22, 2015
https://twitter.com/AskAngy/status/679435848560058368
After Clinton campaign spectacularly misses the mark – Latinos tell her you’re #NotMyAbuela: https://t.co/Ine9BZ9kmg pic.twitter.com/lGw0N4gJ8H
— AJ+ (@ajplus) December 22, 2015
Many followers of the hashtag called out Clinton’s post as Hispandering or pandering to Hispanics, as Mashable put it.
The day @HillaryClinton‘s Hispandering lost my “respeto.” Stop hijacking my grandma/culture for votes.https://t.co/pfxbTOTjiv
— Gabe González (@gaybonez) December 22, 2015
Critics also used the hashtag to explain how Clinton is nothing like their own abuelas, given their families’ struggles.
#NotMyAbuela. Mine fought poverty for her 11 children & couldn’t see half of them before she passed away because of a border.
— Erika Andiola (@ErikaAndiola) December 23, 2015
MY abuela was an orphan in El Salvador and a widowed single mother of 5, yet she NEVER used the gender or victim card. #NotMyAbuela
— Latinas4BernieNY (@Gbonbon13) December 22, 2015
Clinton’s post kicks off with a photo of her and former president Bill Clinton holding their granddaughter, Charlotte, and a subhead that reads “she isn’t afraid to talk about the importance of el respeto,” or respect.
As a candidate, Clinton does relatively well with Latino voters. She beat beat President Barack Obama 2-1 for Latino voters in the 2008 Democratic primary. She’s received endorsements from Latino public figures and celebrities like Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro and singers Ricky Martin and Marc Anthony.
She even used Anthony in her listicle by including a photo with him captioned “Everybody loves abuela—even this guy.”
Illustrated by Max Fleishman
