A reporter was apparently kicked out of Trump Tower for speaking Spanish
Freelance journalist Marcos Stupenengo was granted an audience with Donald Trump but promptly sent packing when the campaign heard him answer his telephone in Spanish, BuzzFeed reports.
Stupenengo was working on assignment for TV Azteca when he reportedly received a call while waiting to be shown in to see Trump. After he answered the call in Spanish, the campaign apparently informed him they had no interest in participating in his interview, a source told BuzzFeed. BuzzFeed additionally writes that Stupenengo "has green eyes and would appear to many as a non-Hispanic white male."
Stupenengo has since clarified on Twitter that he did not have a personal interview arranged with Trump, but rather a film request that was approved over the phone and then denied on site. A Spanish-speaking Secret Service agent working for Trump is said to have apologized to Stupenengo, claiming he didn't know why the request was so suddenly denied after initially being granted.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Stupenengo did not answer BuzzFeed's request for comment other than to say that "after 13 years of journalism, worse things have happened to me."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters



