The United States is home to more fluent Spanish speakers than Spain, but the Trump administration's nominee for the ambassador to Chile apparently doesn't know much beyond como se dice, Bloomberg Politics reports. Businessman Andrew Gellert, the president of the food-importing Gellert Global Group, is a longtime friend of Jared Kushner's father and has a shared interest in the family's troubled tower at 666 Fifth Ave. Yet aside from exporting nuts and dried fruits from Chile, Gellert's nomination is a bit of a head-scratcher: "He has no diplomatic experience and speaks only basic Spanish," Bloomberg Politics writes.
Ambassadorships are often rewarded to campaign donors and other members of the president's personal social circle, and many do not fluently speak the language of the country they represent, though they win points when they do. Gellert's nomination is particularly striking, though, because of the low visibility of Latinos in the Trump administration. The president's Cabinet has been criticized for being the first without any Latinos since 1989.
Subscribe to 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.
-
What does the FDIC do?In the Spotlight Deposit insurance builds confidence in the banking system
-
Ukraine hints at end to 'hot war' with Russia in 2025Talking Points Could the new year see an end to the worst European violence of the 21st Century?
-
2024: The year of conspiracy theoriesIN THE SPOTLIGHT Global strife and domestic electoral tensions made this year a bonanza for outlandish worldviews and self-justifying explanations
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons mergerSpeed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battleSpeed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rallySpeed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
-
Enron mystery: 'sick joke' or serious revival?Speed Read 23 years after its bankruptcy filing, the Texas energy firm has announced its resurrection
-
US charges Indian tycoon with bribery, fraudSpeed Read Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by US prosecutors for his role in a $265 million scheme to secure solar energy deals
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strikeSpeed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
-
US economy still strong in final preelection reportSpeed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strikeSpeed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
