An Italian translator’s perplexed expressions have captured widespread attention after she attempted to decipher Donald Trump’s speech. On October 16, 2019, Trump hosted Italian President Sergio Mattarella in the Oval Office, and as is customary during such international events, a translator was present. However, the Italian translator appeared to be hearing Trump’s rhetoric for the first time, sitting just behind him and gaining significant airtime on MSNBC. Her facial reactions conveyed a vivid narrative of confusion.
Trump’s speeches, much like his tweets, can often be bewildering. For Americans, this has become somewhat routine. When Trump delivers an absurd statement, there’s a collective shrug, as if to say, “What else is new?” However, the translator was visibly struggling to process the randomness of his words, especially since her task involved converting Trump’s nonsensical comments into coherent Italian.
A particularly baffling moment arose when Trump addressed a question regarding Syria, Turkey, and the Kurds in a rather unusual manner. “The Kurds are very well protected; plus, they know how to fight. And, by the way, they’re no angels, but they were with us. They are no angels. But they are fighting. We are largely out of that area. We’re very well set. We have quite a contingent, right nearby, of soldiers and of the finest equipment in the world,” Trump stated during the press conference. Can you imagine the translator’s challenge in rendering Trump’s reference to the Kurds as “no angels” while also boasting about America’s military capabilities into Italian? What vocabulary could possibly encapsulate that?
Adding to her struggle was Trump’s remark about Syria: “It’s a lot of sand. They’ve got a lot of sand over there so there’s a lot of sand that they can play with.” Is he really describing Syria primarily by its sandy terrain? Your guess is as good as ours.
The reactions on social media were immediate and humorous, with many poking fun at both Trump and the translator. A Twitter user pointed out that many foreign leaders are unfamiliar with Trump’s peculiar expressions, as they only ever “hear” him through a translator. For all we know, President Mattarella may have been entirely unaware of Trump’s peculiar extended commentary on sand.
“All the nonsense that comes out of his mouth has to go through the minds of the translators, who can’t help but improve it while they’re translating—simply by virtue of trying to make sense of it themselves!” the Twitter user mused.
Regardless of whatever else is happening in that moment, one thing is clear: this translator had one of the hardest jobs imaginable.
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In summary, the Italian translator’s bewilderment during Trump’s speech not only highlighted the challenges of interpreting his often disjointed language but also became a viral sensation. Her expressions served as a visual commentary on the complexities faced by translators in high-stakes diplomatic situations.
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