There are plenty of presidents in the history of the United States who are or were multilingual. Even though it is relatively unusual for a president of the United States to be able to speak another language, it is not unheard of. Unlike numerous other countries around the world, particularly Europe, it is unusual for someone living in the United States to be able to speak another language, unless they were born in that country. It is helpful if a president can speak another language, as it makes it easier for him or her to negotiate deals with other countries. Therefore, it is generally considered to be a positive if a president can speak another language.
There are several presidents from early in the history of the United States who were multilingual. For example, John Adams served as president of the United States. He was sent to Paris twice to negotiate with France. While he was spending time in France, prior to becoming president of the United States, he learned how to speak French fluently. That made it much easier for him to negotiate deals with the French.
Another early president who was multilingual was Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was fluent in Spanish and could speak some French. Even though it is unclear exactly when or how Thomas Jefferson learned how to speak Spanish, it is believed that the novel Don Quixote helped him learn Spanish.
James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States, served as a minister to France. He also played a significant role in coordinating the Louisiana Purchase. Because he served as the minister to France prior to becoming president, he learned how to speak French, and could speak that language fluently.
There are plenty of modern presidents who were also multilingual. For example, Teddy Roosevelt could arguably speak more languages than any other president in the history of the United States. He was able to read French, German, Italian, and Latin. Even though he was not fluent in all of those languages, he was fluent in a lot of them. This made him one of the most popular presidents in the history of the United States.
In addition, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the longest serving president in the history of the United States, was also fluent in multiple languages. He started learning French and German at a young age. He had the privilege of learning from governesses from Germany and France. Therefore, he was able to speak them fluently by the time he became president of the United States.
Jimmy Carter, who served as president from 1977 to 1981, studied Spanish as well. He also took numerous mission trips to Spain later in life. This allowed him to practice his Spanish, and he eventually became fluent. Bill Clinton, who served as president at the end of the twentieth century, studied German in college. He spoke German at a speech in Germany in 1994.