Sarah Palin Praises Jeb Bush For Being Bilingual, but Wishes More People in the U.S. Would 'Speak American'

Sarah Palin told CNN's Jake Tapper that she thinks those in the United States should "speak American"

Photo: Getty

Sarah Palin is impressed by Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush‘s fluency in Spanish, but says she thinks Americans should just “speak American.”

In a Sunday interview on CNN‘s State of the Union with Jake Tapper, Palin addressed Bush’s use of Spanish during a campaign stop in Miami.

“It’s a benefit of Bush to be able to be so fluent, because we have a large and wonderful Hispanic population building America, and that’s a great connection he has with them,” Palin, 51, said.

However, the former Alaskan governor said there are downsides to Bush showing off his Spanish skills.

“On the other hand, I think we can send a message and say, ‘You want to be in America, A, you’d better be here legally or you’re out of here. B, when you’re here, let’s speak American,” she said, before adding, “Let’s speak English, and that’s a kind of a unifying aspect of the nation is the language that is understood by all.”

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The one-time vice presidential candidate’s opinion echoes that of Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, who told Breitbart News earlier this week that Bush “should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States.”

Palin also said during Sunday’s interview that she would like to be Trump’s Secretary of Energy if he were to win the national election – but not for the reason you’d think.

“If I were head of [the Department of Energy], I’d get rid of it,” she said.