1988 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION : Bush Calls His Half-Latino Grandchildren ‘Brown Ones’

As Vice President George Bush bade President Reagan farewell Tuesday at Belle Chasse Naval Air Station, he introduced the children of his son and Mexico-born daughter-in-law. “That’s Jebby’s kids from Florida,” Bush told the President. “The little brown ones.”

When a reporter asked what the vice president had meant by the remark, son Jeb Bush’s younger brother, Marvin Bush, pointed a finger angrily and said: “My father’s proud of all 10 of his grandchildren, and don’t you forget that! I resent the implication of what you’re saying. My father’s proud of all 10 of his grandchildren equally.”

Later, when asked whether the remark would hurt the vice president with Latinos, Secretary of the Treasury James A. Baker III, who becomes Bush’s campaign chairman on Thursday, told reporters: “The vice president is extremely proud of the fact his grandchildren are 50% Hispanic.”

Bush made his remark in proud and affectionate tones.

He spoke while motioning toward the three children of Jeb Bush and his wife, Columba. He pointed out the eldest, George P. Bush, whom he described to Reagan as “the big one in the yellow shirt.” He added that this grandchild would recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the Republican convention later Tuesday night.