House Republicans Need To Put Down Google Translate

America has one, and only one, official language. House Republicans don’t seem to be aware of this fact. If they are, you’d never be able to tell based on their social media activity.

“House Republicans believe in every American’s potential to thrive by embracing the power of work,” the official House Republicans account posted on X. They proceeded to translate the statement into Spanish. Seems like an inappropriate forum to show off their Duolingo prowess, but that’s merely one writer’s opinion. 

House Republicans believe in every American’s potential to thrive by embracing the power of work.

Los Republicanos en la Cámara creemos en que cada ciudadano americano tiene el potencial de prosperar y beneficiarse de las oportunidades de trabajo.

— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) May 13, 2025

The medium is the message. And the message of this tweet is a desperate, pandering plea to Hispanic voters: “Pretty please, won’t you like us? You don’t even have to put our tweets into Google Translate.”

One of the great lessons of Donald Trump’s political career is don’t seek the approval of people who hate you. Brazen confidence – bolstered by results – is attractive across most demographics. Trump won 46% of the Hispanic vote in 2024, according to NBC News, a record for Republican presidential candidates. 

Social media backlash to the post was swift and uncompromising. Republican Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas fired off a series of responses. “We’re in America. We represent Americans. We don’t pander in foreign languages,” reads one. “Speak English.”

Is this a joke, @HouseGOP?

We’re in America. We represent Americans.

We don’t pander in foreign languages.

Speak English. https://t.co/nmqYrapGBM

— Congressman Brandon Gill (@RepBrandonGill) May 14, 2025

“Press 2 for English” is a losing message, @HouseGOP https://t.co/nmqYrapGBM

— Congressman Brandon Gill (@RepBrandonGill) May 14, 2025

Republicans have tried this strategy before. It failed. For years, Republicans fashioned themselves the slightly less liberal alternative to Democrats. “We’re fine with unlimited immigration, so long as it’s done legally. We’re fine with gay marriage, so long as all parties are consenting adults.” One can easily imagine a Mitt Romney era approach to today’s hot-button cultural issues: “Every American child has a right to genital mutilation surgeries, so long as the taxpayer isn’t paying for it.” 

No one likes mealy-mouthed moderate. America already has a party dedicated to illegal immigration, strange sexual proclivities, and racial grievances. Any voter who is enticed by such policies is unlikely to be interested in a slightly less extreme version of them proffered by an establishment politician. (RELATED: Democrats’ Latest Anti-Trump Silver Bullet Is Destined For Failure)

Nearly one in four Democrats do not believe those who have entered the United States without legal permission – otherwise known as illegal aliens – have broken the law, according to a new survey from polling firm Cygnal. Meanwhile, 79% of Hispanic voters say these aliens have broken the law. Americans as a whole overwhelmingly support deporting these illegal aliens back to their home country according to the survey. 

Pollster @chrislaneMA‘s biggest takeaway – President Trump is surging with Hispanic voters: 29% thought the country was on track when he took office—now it’s 46%.

Full details in our latest NVT: https://t.co/vlsx6CORie pic.twitter.com/7M4c9xR7Cs

— Cygnal Polling & Analytics (@cygnal) April 28, 2025

House Republicans either aren’t paying attention or aren’t interested in winning. There’s a very simple solution. As Gill said: We’re in America. Speak English. 

Follow Natalie Sandoval on X: @NatalieIrene03