Hillary Clinton’s political director wondered whether the candidate should say “yo mama” during a speech at a historically black college near Birmingham, Alabama, leaked emails reveal.
As her team rushed to revise remarks for a February 27 speech at Miles College, Amanda Renteria wrote to her colleagues the day before: “Is everyone comfortable w her saying ‘Yo Mama’?”
“No – pls let’s revise,” senior policy advisor Maya Harris wrote back.
Clinton went on to deliver remarks to a “roaring crowd” at Miles College, according to the Associated Press, without the the “yo mama.”
In April, Clinton went on a New York City radio show called “The Breakfast Club,” where black hosts asked her what she always carried in her purse:
When asked what item she always carried with her, she replied, “Hot sauce.”
“You getting in Formation right now?” asked one of the amazed hosts, citing the lyrics of the Beyoncé song about keeping hot sauce in her bag. He suggested African-Americans would likely see her comment as “pandering to black people.”
“O.K… Is it workin’?” she replied, laughing.
Clinton has taken heat for her clumsy pandering to black voters.
“I’m surprised she didn’t say watermelon — just go all the way in,” said Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke after the “hot sauce” episode. “This stuff is dehumanizing. It’s embarrassing. It’s disgusting. And if any other candidate were to say something like that, some stereotype about black people, it would derail their campaign.”
The leaked email is part of a series of releases from Wikileaks regarding the Clinton campaign.