Politics - News Analysis

WHOA: Trump Humiliates Himself by Mispronouncing Almost Everything During Bizarre Speech in India

Donald Trump faced some serious difficulty in pronouncing the names of two of India’s greatest sportsman during his welcome speech on Monday.

Trump began his 36-hour trip to India by addressing 100,000 Indians at the “Namaste Trump” rally at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad, the world’s largest cricket stadium.

In his speech, Trump praised the Bollywood movie industry, mentioning the classic films “DDLJ” and “Sholay.”

However, he had some trouble name-checking former Indian test cricket captain Sachin Tendulkar and current captain Virat Kohli.

“Your people cheer on some of the greatest cricket players, from Sachin Tendulkar to Virat Kohli, the greatest in the world,” Trump said, to wild cheers.

Moments before, Trump had quoted the Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda, but gave up half way through trying to pronounce his name and laughed it off.

“As the great religious teacher Swami Vive..kamun…nund once said, ‘the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him, that moment I am free’,” Trump said.

Trump, traveling with his wife Melania, visited the Taj Mahal later on Monday.

He is scheduled to meet Indian president Ram Nath Kovind and prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.

India probably reveres cricket more than any other nation in the world, and its national players are treated like royalty.

Tendulkar himself holds several international records, and is widely considered the greatest batsman of the modern era. Kholi is currently the number one rated test batsman in the world.

“What an embarrassment,” wrote another person in reaction to the footage.

Many others noted Trump’s embarrassing pronunciation of names.

BBC’s Rajini Vaidyanathan reported that crowds began leaving midway through Trump’s speech, which came after Modi spoke.

meet the author

Nicole Hickman James is a lifelong Democrat and political activist who first cut her teeth as a teenager volunteering for Mike Dukakis’ presidential campaign. She has worked and volunteered for John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, HFA (Hillary For America), and Organizing For Action. She’s passionate about liberal and progressive causes and considers President Obama her favorite president ever. She holds her Bachelor’s from Boston College in Economics and her Master's from Columbia, also in Economics. When not working as a writer, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her three college-aged children.

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