US President Donald Trump had a blunt message for Latin American leaders during an international summit. He insisted that they shouldn’t expect him to learn Spanish. Trump made it clear that while he respects their nations, language lessons aren’t in his future.
Donald Trump has a message for Latin American leaders
Donald Trump acknowledged Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s linguistic edge when engaging with Latin American leaders. This happened during the inaugural Shield of Americas Summit at his Doral Golf Club in Miami on March 7.
“It’s so good that we got to know so many of you,” Trump told the gathering. “I mean, so many, and I’d love to get to your countries at some point. Marco loves going to your countries. He’s always in one of these countries. He likes your countries the best,” he added.
Then came the message that captured attention. “He’s got a language advantage over me, ’cause I’m not learning your damn language,” Trump continued. “I don’t have time. I was okay with languages, but I’m not gonna spend time learning your language. That much I won’t do,” he said.
The president pivoted to emphasize the importance of quality interpretation, spending several minutes explaining why having a “good interpreter” matters when communicating with foreign leaders. Rubio, whose Cuban immigrant parents shaped his bilingual upbringing, later took the stage and addressed the room in Spanish, noting that “some of these cameras are covering in Spanish.”
“We don’t need an interpreter for this one,” Rubio joked. “I think I’m a good interpreter, you’ll find out in a second.” When Trump returned to the microphone after Rubio’s Spanish remarks, he asked the audience: “Is he better in Spanish or in English? I think he’s better in Spanish … it’s great.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth kept the lighthearted tone going when he began his remarks by declaring, “Mr. President, I only speak American.”
The international summit centered on the new Shield of the Americas security initiative, which White House spokesperson Olivia Wales described as designed to “advance cutting-edge strategies to defeat narco-terrorist cartels and stop illegal mass migration to make America and the entire Western Hemisphere safer” (via People).
These conversations come after Donald Trump has infamously slammed Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance for essentially singing in a language, “nobody understands.”
