During the JFK Administration, the late President addressed a crowd in Berlin, stating "Ich bin ein Berliner.' Contrary to urban legend, JFK did not state: "I am a Donut." Germans interpret his comment to be "I am one with the people of Berlin."
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

During the JFK Administration, the late President addressed a crowd in Berlin, stating "Ich bin ein Berliner.' Contrary to urban legend, JFK did not state: "I am a Donut." Germans interpret his comment to be "I am one with the people of Berlin."

Presidential candidate Donald Trump probably would have said: "Speak English, Mr. President!"

The latest brouhaha has Trump telling candidate Jeb Bush to speak English since we are in America.

As long as I can remember, candidates running for everything from dog catcher to Commander-in-chief have attempted to endear themselves to many ethnic and cultural groups around the country to say: "I am one with you."

But it appears that Trump has decided that this is a country for White, English-speaking Americans and no one, not even a candidate for the highest office, should be 'pandering' to any one culture.

In New York, for decades, candidates for Mayor have visited Jewish enclaves in Brooklyn and uttered the words 'Shalom' in their remarks to pay respect to the community. I don't have factual examples but I would bet that Donald Trump had a 'shalom' or two in his appearances before this powerful ethnic and voting bloc.

To Mormons, any non-Mormon is a Gentile. In his book, 'How to Talk Dirty and Influence People," social satirist Lenny Bruce said: 'To me, if you live in New York or any other big city, you're Jewish. It doesn't matter if you are Catholic. If you live in Butte, Montana, you're a Gentile."

What that means to me, is the cultural mixing pot makes us all Italian at The San Gennaro Festival, Irish at the St.Patrick's Day Parade, African-American on Martin Luther King Day and, if open-minded, 'gay' on National Pride Day. I thought we have become a great country because of our differences. I thought we celebrate our differences and find common ground, not use our differences to exclude and hide under the veil of racism.

I may be Pollyannish (for those under 40, Pollyanna was..well..never mind) but regarding the attack on Jeb Bush, speaking Spanish is natural to him and to the people who put him in office, not to mention the people he is trying to get to join him in his race to the White House. His wife is Hispanic and it has been spoken in his home for most of his life and to me, it's a sign of respect.

Jeb Bush may not be a donut. I never met the man. Maybe he likes donuts. Who knows? But to speak in a language that demonstrates his affiliation and alliance with hard-working Americans make a lot of sense to me.

In 2004, Trump unveiled the Donald Trump action figure at Toys R Us which had five 'commandments' in his voice. One reportedly was 'Don't spare the chutzpah."

To him, I would say: Speak English,man!

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot