TONGUE TWISTER

Trump Speaks to Massive Indian Crowd, Mispronounces Almost Everything

The president and the Indian prime minister entered the stadium to the sound of the Village People song “Macho Man.”

President Donald Trump addressed a massive public rally early Monday in India, where he showered the country and its prime minister with praise—but repeatedly struggled with his pronunciation. The 100,000-seat stadium in the state of Gujarat was reportedly at capacity by the time Trump arrived—he walked to the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the sound of the Village People song “Macho Man” rang out over loudspeakers. Trump was cheered as he told the crowd that their country “will always hold a very special place in our hearts,” and said of the PM: “Everybody loves him but I will tell you this, he is very tough.” BBC News India kept a running total of the Indian words Trump managed to mispronounce, including Ahmedabad, the city where he was speaking. He reportedly referred to the Indian philosopher Swami Vivekananda as Swami Vivekamanan, and called the Vedas—ancient Hindu religious texts—“Vestas.” He also mangled the names of India’s biggest cricket stars. The BBC reports some in the crowd began leaving midway through Trump’s speech.