The President of the United States, Donald Trump, joked this Saturday in front of the 12 Latin American leaders present at the 'Shield of the Americas' Summit, stating that he doesn't have time to learn Spanish.
Trump assured that Secretary of State Marco Rubio (descendant of Cuban exiles) has an advantage over him in the linguistic matter.
"Speak Spanish, I don't. And for me, it's too late; I'm not going to learn your damn language. I don't have time!" he asserted, provoking laughter among those present.
"I have no issues with languages, but I'm not going to spend time learning yours," he added.
The Republican leader said he prefers to have "a good interpreter."
He assured that even though he doesn't know how to speak another language, he is able to tell if a translator is good or bad.
He recounted that recently, when he was conversing with "a very strong person from another part of the world," the interpreter he had did not translate correctly, and he realized the mistake, despite not understanding the language.
"The interpreters are very important," he added, stating that it is not very helpful to perform well in negotiations with other presidents if the interpreter is not good.
Trump made these statements during the event held in Miami, a city in Florida with a strong immigrant presence, particularly from Cuba.
On his part, Marco Rubio spoke a few words in Spanish to the Latin American presidents present at the summit.
"Thank the countries that are here today. First, the president has made this region a priority in his Administration. Many presidents have said they would do it, but he has actually done it," he expressed.
After his intervention, Trump maintained a relaxed tone about the language issue and asked, "Is it better in Spanish or in English? I think it's better in Spanish. I think so. It's excellent," he joked.
Next up was the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, who joked that he only speaks "American."
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