President Donald Trump launched into a critical rant against a female interpreter during a summit with Latin American leaders at his golf resort in Doral, Florida. The event, dubbed the “Shield of the Americas Summit,” brought together leaders from a dozen Western Hemisphere nations to discuss security, migration, and counter-narcotics cooperation.
Speaking in front of the assembled leaders, Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a “language advantage” over him, adding, “’Cause I’m not learning your damn language. I don’t have time.” He then claimed he could discern a poor interpreter despite not speaking the language, recounting an instance where an interpreter shortened his “long, flowing, beautiful sentence” into a much shorter rendition, suggesting the translation could not have been accurate.
The summit focused on tackling drug cartels and transnational gangs, with Trump urging leaders to deploy military force. “The only way to defeat these enemies is by unleashing the power of our militaries,” he said, drawing parallels to the US-led coalition against the Islamic State. The gathering excluded leaders from major regional powers Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia, whose presidents were not invited.
Analysts view the summit as a cornerstone of Trump’s second-term foreign policy, sometimes described as a modern version of the Monroe Doctrine. The event followed the cancellation of the 10th Summit of the Americas last year amid US military tensions near Venezuela.
