In this day and age of tweets, posts and Youtube clips forever etched in history, you would think officials would be more careful with what they let slip out. But in these ten instances, politicians’ and educators’ actions concerning Latinos left many scratching their heads and wondering, “Did they really just say that?”

Immigrants? Dogs? Oh no: One of the most recent examples comes from Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), who hasn’t previously sought to endear himself to Latinos with his tough talk on immigration. In this clip, King compares the selection of immigrants to be allowed in the United States to picking the right bird dog from a litter. As he says, “pick the one that is friskiest, the one that’s engaged the most – not the one that’s sleeping in the corner.”


The Taco Mayor: This one is a doozy. East Haven, Connecticut Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. found himself the target of tough questions from many who were outraged by the arrests of police officers for charges of discrimination against Latinos. Asked what he was doing for the Hispanic community in the wake of the arrests, Maturo Jr. shot back that he “might have tacos tonight.” Maturo Jr. was pressed by the reporter about how this may be deemed offensive and he remained steadfast in his comments. The lesson as always – when someone asks you about how you are protecting predominantly Ecuadorian citizens who may have been the target of discrimination – don’t respond by saying you might be eating a stereotypical Mexican dish.

Chimichanga-gate: Anytime you’re adding the ominous “-gate” suffix to a Mexican food item, it’s probably not going to end well for Latinos. It all started when Obama 2012 campaign manager Jim Messina tweeted a borrowed line from The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank: “The chimichanga? It may be the only thing Republicans have left to offer Latinos,“ he wrote. Enter the outrage from GOP officials and Latinos who felt the comment was insensitive. Bettina Inclan, the Director of Hispanic Outreach for the Republican National Committee (RNC), tweeted, “Hey @Messina2012, not to try and insult your intelligence or anything, but not all Hispanics are about chimichangas.”

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