Beto O’Rourke was one of the top candidates on the stage in Miami, Florida for the first 2020 Democratic Debate. O’Rourke was joined by fellow nine other fellow candidates: Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard, Washington Governor Jay Inslee, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, Ohio Representative Tim Ryan, and former Maryland Representative John Delaney.
While every candidate hopes to have a standout moment during the debates, it was O’Rourke who had the first answer that had social media buzzing.
Unfortunately, it was for all of the wrong reasons.
Beto became the first meme of the 2020 election cycle thanks to “Beto en Espanol” during his first answer of the debate. O’Rourke was asked about a marginal tax rate of 70 percent for the richest people in the country, and the former Texas Representative dodged the question by breaking out his broken Spanish.
“Beto en Espanol” was then born — in large part thanks to hilarious reactions from Senator Cory Booker and Senator Elizabeth Warren.
WATCH: Beto O'Rourke delivers his first #DemDebate response in English and Spanish. pic.twitter.com/xxZSvvYTyq
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 27, 2019
The jokes immediately began flying on social media and Beto became a trending topic on the social media site. It may not be the reason you want to trend, but at least Beto had his moment and generated some buzz on the night.
Check out some of the best “Beto en Espanol” memes from the first Democratic Debate below.
#DemocraticDebate
No one:Beto: pic.twitter.com/kARN62f7I1
— Kristen Chiarello (@notfunnykris) June 27, 2019
absolutely no one at the democratic debates:
beto: pic.twitter.com/eA8PMkmeHc— Jill Gutowitz (@jillboard) June 27, 2019
Beto O' Rouke is like if gentrification was a person
— p.e. garcia (@avantgarcia) June 27, 2019
Moderator: “Mr. O’Rourke, what do you think about this specific tax plan?”
Beto: “Well you see I know Spanish.”
Moderator: “Yeah but the tax plan…”
Beto: “Hola como estas”#DemocraticDebate
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 27, 2019
When Dad says "Hola, como estas?" to the waiter at the Mexican restaurant #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/64FY2LV6kp
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) June 27, 2019
Sen. Cory Booker watching Beto speak Spanish pic.twitter.com/47S5rMOwuk
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) June 27, 2019
Elizabeth and Cory's faces when Beto answered in Spanish was all I needed today….#DemocraticDebate pic.twitter.com/mOcAOExtRp
— Harmony Lloyd (@harmonymist) June 27, 2019
Beto avoiding answering the question like
#DemocraticDebate pic.twitter.com/X8gZ4oP4EM
— Patrick Kane (@realpatkane) June 27, 2019
beto: *speaks spanish*
Warren: this fucking bitch…
Booker: oh my God he's speaking tongues he's possessed holy shit pic.twitter.com/4iM7y91Yp5
— Yung Zoe (@yungkitty404) June 27, 2019
[spanish] pic.twitter.com/oxy9zRUIm8
— David Mack (@davidmackau) June 27, 2019
How the Democrats standing next to Beto feel when he starts speaking Spanish: pic.twitter.com/2zsQIGstVJ
— Kyle Morris (@RealKyleMorris) June 27, 2019
Moderator: *asks Beto a specific question about policy.
Beto: “uh lemme just do half of this in Español and hope they forget.”
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) June 27, 2019
Day 2 of the Democratic Debate will feature some of the heavyweights in the presidential race with former Vice President Joe Biden, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, California Senator Kamala Harris, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Colorado Senator Michael Bennet, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, California Representative Eric Swalwell, spiritual author Marianne Williamson, and entrepreneur Andrew Yang taking the stage live on MSNBC, CNBC, and Telemundo.
