By the halfway point of the first Democratic presidential debate, two candidates and one moderator had spoken in Spanish, with some attempts more fluent than others.
The bilingual gambits began with former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who for his first question began by speaking his second language.
O’Rourke, 46, was responding to a question about whether he would support a marginal individual 70% tax rate on highest earners. He responded in Spanish translated to: “We need to include everyone in the success of this economy. But, if we want to do this, we have to include everyone in our democracy. Every voter needs representation, and every voice must be listened to.”
During O’Rourke’s response, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker looked confused, but then tried to one-up him by also answering a question about immigration in the language.
“The situation right now is unacceptable. This president has attacked, has demonized immigrants. It’s unacceptable. I’m going to change that,” Booker, 50, said in heavily accented Spanish.
After that, one of the moderators, José Díaz-Balart of Telemundo, broke into Spanish to ask a question to O’Rourke about immigration.
“Congressman O’Rourke, what would you do on your first day, if you were president, about this reality that is happening?” Díaz-Balart asked.
O’Rourke answered back in Spanish, “We will treat everyone with the respect and dignity they deserve as humans.”
Motivational speaker and Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, 66, who is slated to debate on Thursday, joked about the bilingualism over Twitter, writing, “I need to learn Spanish by tomorrow night at 9.”
I need to learn Spanish by tomorrow night at 9.
— Marianne Williamson (@marwilliamson) June 27, 2019
