'Which Chimney Will Santa Use?': Gloria Estefan's Obama Interview Not Exactly Hard-Hitting
On the up side, we now know Santa's White House flight pattern and the importance of reindeer snacks. Univision's news reporters must be pissed that their network gave a presidential sit-down to a pop star.
The Miami Sound Machine singer opened up her presidential interview with some hard-hitting questions about White House security:
GLORIA ESTEFAN:
It's very beautiful. And by the way, I have a very important question to start off this interview, which chimney will Santa be coming down?PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:
Well, we think that he's going to be coming down into the Yellow Room, which is right at the middle of the Residence. So, that's where we are going to set the cookies and the milk, because after working all night, giving the gifts….GLORIA ESTEFAN:
And something for the reindeers…PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:
And the reindeers, we'll have a little reindeer snack out there…GLORIA ESTEFAN:
That's wonderful…..
Now, I understand the interview was for a Christmas special called Nuestra Navidad—but, he's the President of the United States. You don't have a single political question for him? A compilation of Gloria's Obama interview utterances—which Ben Smith cleverly thought to isolate here—reads like an Emily Post guide on How to Make Polite Small Talk at a Cocktail Party. A sample:
GLORIA ESTEFAN:
How does it feel having your mother-in-law at the White House?GLORIA ESTEFAN:
That's wonderful. I loved my mother-in-law as well.GLORIA ESTEFAN:
Lets move on to the great honor of interviewing you…GLORIA ESTEFAN:
Without a doubt, there are angels among us who help their neighbors....GLORIA ESTEFAN:
Mr. President, would you be able to send holiday greeting to all the Hispanics watching? Did you practice your Spanish?GLORIA ESTEFAN:
That's great.
And you thought the Oprah interview was going to be easy. Then again, Barry totally has a soft spot for Spanish-language pop stars—like the time Thalia convinced him to dance the salsa at a White House dinner—so maybe Univision was trying to take advantage of that.
