One well-known journalist has drawn a comparison between Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s directive to change the State Department’s official font and the Nazis’ prohibition of “Jewish” fonts back in 1941. Steve Herman, who previously served as a White House bureau chief for Voice of America, made this statement after Rubio’s recent order.
Herman commented, “The Nazis banned the Fraktur font in 1941 because it was ‘too Jewish,'” providing a stark historical reference. He restated his thoughts on this issue on the social media platform Mastodon, linking Rubio’s font decision to the historical ban.
Rubio’s memo, known as “Return to Tradition: All Department Forms Require Times New Roman 14-Point Font,” was released on Tuesday. It calls for the elimination of a Biden administration initiative that had switched the department’s official typeface to Calibri in 2023. This transition was seen as part of a broader push for diversity and accessibility. The memo stated that returning to Times New Roman would enhance the professionalism of external communications.
Interestingly, Rubio criticized the Calibri switch, labeling it a “wasteful” effort that did not achieve its intended goals. He asserted that it actually reduced the quality of communications from the State Department, which had relied on Times New Roman for about two decades prior.
In what seemed like a bid for consistency, Rubio mentioned that this change would align the State Department’s communications with other federal agencies that predominantly use Times New Roman and similar serif fonts.
Herman also referenced remarks from Nazi official Martin Bormann, who, in a memo from 1941, stated that certain Jewish letters would no longer be used in official communications.
The State Department has yet to respond to requests for comments regarding this recent controversy.
