September 13, 2019

Democrats Showed Off Their Spanish at Last Night’s Debate. Jackie Kennedy Did It First.

“Viva Kennedy!”

Bettmann Archive/Getty

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

It seems that not a single Democratic presidential debate can go by without Spanish-speaking candidates flaunting their fluency. Thursday’s third Democratic debate was no exception.

Regarding President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, said, “Anyone who supports this is supporting racism. Es racismo y es sencillo.” (“It’s racism and it’s simple.”)

Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke took a similar approach to discussing immigration. “In our communities and our country, we need to treat every person with respect and dignity,” he said in Spanish.

Cory Booker refused to be left out of the bilingual banter. When asked whether more Americans should adopt his vegan diet, the New Jersey senator replied, “First of all, I want to say ‘no.’ Actually, I want to translate that into Spanish: ‘No.’”

But Democrats showing off their second language skills to woo Spanish-speaking voters is nothing new. Please enjoy this 1960 video of Jaqueline Kennedy telling voters to support her husband, Sen. John F. Kennedy, for president.

Here’s an English translation:

Dear Friends,

I am the wife of Senator John F. Kennedy, candidate for president of the United States. In these times of such danger, when world peace is threatened by communism, it’s necessary to have in the White House a leader capable of guiding our destiny with a firm hand. My husband will always watch over the interests of all of the parts of our society which need the protection of a humanitarian government. For the future of our children and to achieve a world where true peace exists, vote for the Democratic Party November 8th. Long live Kennedy!

Jackie Kennedy didn’t stop flexing her Spanish fluency even after her husband took office. Here she is in Miami in 1962, addressing the Cuban exiles of Brigade 2406 in Spanish following the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion.

It is an honor for me today to be among a group of the bravest men in the world, and to participate in the joy that their family members must feel, who for so long lived in waiting, and prayed and hoped. I feel proud that my son has met your officials. He is still too young to realize what has happened here, but I will take care to tell him the history of your valor as he grows up. It’s my desire and my hope that some day, he will be a man at least half as courageous as the members of the Brigade 2506. Good luck.

While the “Viva Kennedy” campaign worked out for the Massachusetts senator in 1960, whether Buttigieg and O’Rourke can pull it off remains to be seen.

WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

payment methods

WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate