newsela article

Four of the nation’s earliest presidents were multilingual, educated in languages such as Latin, ancient Greek, German, Italian and French.

They were seen as snobs or elitists, and even worse as European-style politicians.

So Bush's and Rubio’s fluency in Spanish could be a big advantage.

Now, the United States could have the chance to elect a two-language, or bilingual president.

— The United States has not elected a president fluent in a language other than English since 1944.

In 2016, however, Hispanic voters have reached a record 27.3 million.

A viral YouTube attack ad called him “China Jon.”

— The United States has not elected a president fluent in a language other than English since 1944.

In the field of nine remaining presidential candidates, only two could change that: Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio.

Millennials, born in the late 1990s, make up almost half of the eligible voters among Latinos.

“For too long, Americans have relied on other countries to speak our language. But we won’t be able to do that in the increasingly complex and interconnected world. To prosper economically and to improve relations with other countries, Americans need to read, speak and understand other languages,” Duncan said in a speech at the University of Maryland.