Hillary Clinton's campaign apparently required 16 email exchanges before they could reply to a single Marco Rubio tweet

(Image credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

published 18 October 2016

To recap what we have learned from the WikiLeaks emails so far: How to make creamy risotto. That CNN's Donna Brazile might have slipped the Hillary Clinton campaign a question before a town hall debate. Oh, and how long it takes Clinton's team to figure out how to reply to a single Marco Rubio tweet (eight and a half hours, approximately).

The emails apparently showed that at the end of July, the Clinton campaign put their heads down when Rubio tweeted "After Clinton's failed 'reset' with Putin, now she wants to do a 'reset' with Castro. She is making another mistake" around 7:30 a.m. "Here we go," speechwriter Dan Schwerin replied when someone shared the tweet. Foreign policy adviser Jake Sullivan suggested the first draft to hit Rubio back:

Perhaps an HRC tweet along the lines of:Those who seek to lead our country should focus on the future, not try to pull us back to the past. Embargo hasn't worked for 50+ years. Let's try something new. [WikiLeaks]

Another foreign policy adviser, Laura Rosenberger, gave her own stab at a reply. "Love hitting him back," deputy communications director Christina Reynolds jumped in. Eventually someone thought to tag Marco Rubio with his handle; speechwriter Lauren Peterson suggested replying directly to Rubio: "People will see this and it will get picked up."

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Finally, 16 emails and nearly nine hours later, the campaign had their reply:

Read the full email thread at WikiLeaks here.

Next experiment: How many Clinton aides does it take to change a light bulb?

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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.