There he goes again: on Wednesday night, Jon Huntsman rolled out the Mandarin in a South Carolina town hall meeting.
For Huntsman, who learned the Chinese dialect as a Mormon missionary in Taiwan, it wasn?t a big deal. He?s frequently spoken in Chinese at events over the course of his campaign ? often in response to Chinese speakers who approach him.
Continue ReadingBut after a nationally televised debate last week in which he displayed his bilingual skills to mixed reviews, and in a party where China has been a source of considerable economic and foreign policy anxiety, Huntsman?s habit is drawing attention ? and not necessarily the good kind.
?I didn?t think the Mandarin thing worked at all. I thought it was ridiculous,? said Donald Trump, a harsh critic of China, on Fox News. ?And frankly, I think Huntsman?s stance toward China is ? it?s almost like he?s an Obama plant.?
Joe Scarborough, the former GOP congressman and host of MSNBC?s ?Morning Joe,? also had a negative reaction: ?You don?t speak Mandarin during a Republican debate.?
It?s not the first time Huntsman?s been whacked for his being bilingual. In the week prior to the Jan. 7 debate ? when he responded to Mitt Romney?s criticism of his China policies by saying in Mandarin Chinese, ?He doesn?t totally understand this situation? ? Huntsman was the target of a racially charged web ad that called him ?China Jon? and the ?Manchurian candidate.? The ad, created by someone claiming to be a Ron Paul supporter, questioned whether he had ?American values or Chinese? and featured clips of the former ambassador to China speaking Mandarin.
Huntsman?s supporters tend to applaud his language proficiency, viewing it as precisely the kind of skill you?d want in a president. They see it as an example of his intellectual dexterity and curiosity, more evidence of the former diplomat?s global perspective.
In some ways, though, that?s exactly the problem. American voters don?t always view a background in foreign affairs, or the ability to speak another language, as an asset in a candidate. Newt Gingrich, for example, is currently airing a web ad mocking Romney for being able to speak French, ?just like John Kerry.? The one minute spot also derisively features a clip of Romney saying, ?Hello, my name is Mitt Romney? in French. The ad?s title? The French Connection.
In Huntsman?s case, it?s not just the television talking heads who found his use of Chinese in the debate politically tone-deaf ? and perhaps even a bit contrived.
Jim Rubens, of Etna, N.H., a supporter who showed up Monday morning at a Huntsman event, said he participated in a Fox News debate focus group where the Mandarin moment was the topic of much discussion.
?They played the clip several times, and I was watching the audience react to it. The Chinese was off-putting for some folks. During the Chinese, the dials just shut down,? he said.
Two days later, Huntsman?s foreign language flight remained a much buzzed about topic with Rubens and the others waiting for the former Utah governor at a 24-hour restaurant in Lebanon, N.H.
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