if you don't give us all your Facebook passwords

It really never has. Unlike, say, European countries, the US doesn't speak their language. A non-English speaker in the United States starts out with a serious problem. When I visited several countries in Europe, I tried to at least be polite in the languages of those countries, but that was about it. However, I discovered that wherever I was, there was usually someone who spoke English well enough for whatever needed to happen to happen.

Not so in the United States. A visitor who speaks German, for example, but who can be polite in English, will encounter many problems in engaging in normal daily activities. In a typical place of business, there is nobody who is even conversant in German, so the tourist or business traveler needs more English than, say, I would need German in Germany. But there are no German speakers here in most places.

I'm OK in French. I can handle most interactions in that language. I remember being in a Bank in Santa Barbara, which is a popular tourist community. I was in line at a teller's window. The person in front of me was trying to get a cash advance from a credit card, and was attempting to communicate with the teller. The teller had no French, and the tourist had not enough English to explain what was needed. There were no French speaking employees in the bank. Both the tourist and the teller were frustrated and upset. I stepped up and offered to translate. Shortly, the transaction was completed, since my French was good enough to deal with the conversation.

Had I not been there, or had there not been someone there who spoke both French and English, a simple transaction would have been extremely difficult to conduct. That is why the United States is not friendly to tourists from other countries who don't speak English well. And worse, we don't really care. We just shrug and go on about our business.

Your example highlights that not all can.

When I was in Europe this fall(France and Switzerland) I was several times asked did we really elect this guy. It was embarrassing in a way.

Our brand is seriously damaged. Way more than Reagan or Bush damaged it. I fear it is permanent.