Woman who asked question about pumpkin spice latte during Hillary's Facebook Q&A swears she's not a plant

• Hillary Clinton said she stopped drinking pumpkin spice lattes because of the calories 
• The 'fun' question was asked by Claire Celsi, an Iowan with ties to the Clinton campaign 
• Reporters suggested that Celsi might be a plant since the Clinton campaign, in 2007, admitted to using canned questions 
• Celsi said she was just sitting at her computer when she saw the Q&A pop up and called the question 'dumb'

By Nikki Schwab, U.s. Political Reporter For Dailymail.com

Published: 16:59 EST, 29 September 2015 | Updated: 22:42 EST, 29 September 2015

Pumpkin spice latte fans were aghast when they heard that Hillary Clinton had given up the seasonal treat on account of 'how many calories are in them.'

During yesterday's Facebook Q&A with the candidate, a woman named Claire Celsi threw Clinton this softball: 'Hillary - are you a pumpkin spice latte kind of girl,' Celsi asked. 

Turns out Celsi was already a Hillary Clinton kind of woman, having worked as a volunteer on the Democratic frontrunner's 2008 campaign in Iowa, according to the Washington Free Beacon.  

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During a Facebook Q&A yesterday, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton rattled the internet by saying she had given up pumpkin spice lattes due to the calories 

The questioner was Claire Celsi, a volunteer for Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign in Iowa, who told DailyMail.com she wasn't a plant for the Clinton's 2016 campaign 

Claire Celsi (pictured), a veteran of Iowa politics, said she was a low level volunteer during the 2008 campaign, though met Hillary Clinton several times and had dinner with the former secretary of state in Washington, D.C.

 'Celsi, who still keeps mementos from Clinton’s 2008 campaign, has also become a go-to Clinton supporter to talk to for media covering Clinton’s Iowa campaign,' the Free Beacon reported.

Celsi told the Free Beacon that she hadn't been a paid staffer in 2008 and wasn't currently coordinating with the campaign. 

Celsi told DailyMail.com that she was sitting at her computer yesterday and saw the Q&A pop up on Facebook. 

'I put out a dumb question about pumpkin spice lattes,' she said. 'I never thought they would answer it. Seriously, nobody planted the question with me,' she went on.  

The question of Celsi potentially being a plant came up because the Clinton campaign, in 2007, admitted to using canned questions.  

In one instance, as reported by the Nation, an Iowa college student was told by a Clinton campaign staffer what to ask the candidate – a fairly open-ended query about global warming – after she concluded her remarks at the Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner. 

Grinnell College's student newspaper, the Scarlet & Black, broke the story and reported that several students had similar experiences with the campaign.   

 After first denying the allegations, a spokesperson for the campaign eventually relented. 

'On this occasion a member of our staff did discuss a possible question about Senator Clinton’s energy plan at a forum,' a spokesperson said, adding, 'this is not standard policy and will not be repeated again.' 

See our full coverage of Hillary Clinton and her presidential bid 

Questioner Claire Celsi objected to the criticism Hillary Clinton received, explaining that the former secretary of state enjoyed the taste of the pumpkin spice latte, but didn't appreciate the calories 

This time around what's more likely is that the campaign is purposely picking questions to make Clinton look a little softer around the edges. 

The former secretary of state has been on a media roll of late – dancing on Ellen DeGeneres, pretending to talk to 'Donald Trump' on Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, discussing feminism and marriage with Girls creator Lena Dunham.

'She is likable, that's the thing,' Celsi said, who described her role in Clintonworld as that of a low level volunteer, though said she's met the candidate a handful of times, including at a surprise dinner in Washington thanks to the now-retired Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin.  

Celsi was also concerned with how the media was interpreting Clinton's answer.

A reporter for the Washington Post, for example, said, 'I don't need to tell you how wrong this is, but I am going to, because this is the kind of shallow media landscape we all so eagerly occupy.' 

The Post's Alexandra Petri then gave a full-throated defense for sucking down the seasonal Starbucks beverage, which clocks in at 380 calories when made with 2 percent milk and topped with whipped cream. 

To the Free Beacon, Celsi said, 'The funny thing is that everybody is saying she is against pumpkin spice lattes, but she clearly likes them,' she said of Clinton. 'She just can't drink many of them.' 

Later Celsi took to Twitter to make the same point.

'[Hillary Clinton] didn't say she didn't LIKE pumpkin pie spice, she said she doesn't drink it [because] of calories,' Celsi wrote, using the hashtag 'pumpkinpiespicegate.' 

Celsi said she actually held the same opinion of the beverage, saying she likes the taste of the spices, but it's not worth the Weight Watchers points.

'I'd rather have dinner,' she laughed.  

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