{"id":9017,"date":"2015-09-30T14:06:58","date_gmt":"2015-09-30T18:06:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/?p=9017"},"modified":"2015-09-30T14:06:58","modified_gmt":"2015-09-30T18:06:58","slug":"the-spanish-language-in-the-2016-us-presidential-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/the-spanish-language-in-the-2016-us-presidential-race\/","title":{"rendered":"The Spanish Language in the 2016 US Presidential Race"},"content":{"rendered":"

The United States is not an English-speaking country, and its linguistic diversity is already affecting the coming 2016 presidential elections. The argument is often made that\u00a0the US federal constitution doesn’t recognize an official state language, which, while true, has few practical implications. What does matter is that 74 million Americans speak a language other than English at home<\/a> — that’s about the combined population of California, Texas, and Massachusets.<\/p>\n

Of those 74 million, more than half speak Spanish:\u00a0approximately 45 million Americans speak Spanish as a first language<\/a>.\u00a0If you include multilinguals, that number exceeds 52 million, making the US the second-largest Spanish speaking population in the world<\/a>. With these numbers, it’s easy to see why the Spanish language is finally making its voice heard in the 2016 election cycle.<\/p>\n

Recently the race for the Republican primary nomination, which will decide which candidate will represent the Republicans in the 2016 national election, has featured some discussion of issues around the Spanish language. Donald Trump vocally criticized Jeb Bush for speaking Spanish at campaign events\u00a0in Florida, claiming that “he should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

Jeb Bush speaks fluent Spanish and has not been shy about it on the campaign trail. Bush taught English as a Second Language in L\u00e9on, Mexico, where he met his wife, Columba. According to Bush, he and his family regularly speak Spanish at home, “particularmente cu\u00e1ndo mi primera dama est\u00e1 enojada conmigo<\/em>“. See for yourself what he has to say in this Spanish interview with Univision:<\/p>\n