Donald Trump recently sang the praises of Japanese First Lady Akie Abe, saying she was a lovely woman when they sat together at a G20 dinner, but that she couldn’t speak a word of English. Although it hasn’t been confirmed yet, the internet has exploded and decided that Abe must be able to speak English considering her status but pretended she couldn’t do so in order to avoid a conversation with the American president.
According to Donald Trump, she didn’t even say hello to him while they sat together for over four hours .
There was only one Japanese interpreter, so the first lady of Japan didn’t make use of the person’s services.
However, users found a video of the first lady of Japan making a speech in New York in 2014, where she spoke for 15 minutes straight in English, making them believe she had decided to utilize being from a foreign country to her advantage when it came to small talk with Donald Trump.
Akie Abe was not seated next to her husband, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, since husbands and wives were seated apart. According to the president, Melania Trump was seated next to Vladimir Putin. Donald Trump made his way over to the pair and Putin actually did say hello to him.
The Washington Post , however, feels that Japan’s Akie Abe probably does speak some English, but her level of proficiency is not enough to carry on a conversation. They note that she visited Washington with her husband in February and made no public remarks, and that the speech at the Ford Foundation was done consulting a script. It was also noted that she visited an elementary school in Virginia with Michelle Obama as part of their Japanese immersion program. During that time, she spoke through a Japanese interpreter and did not make much commentary in English.
A Japanese expert at the Washington Post said that they had not heard Abe speak in any language other than Japanese and thinks she is not comfortable having a complex conversation in English.
A television reporter in Japan told the newspaper that he believes she does speak “some” English, but doesn’t understand it very well.
Was the first lady being next-level petty or does she really not understand English? Surely she could have mustered a hello to Donald Trump, and must at least know that word considering Japan’s relations with Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.
[Featured Image by Cindy Ord/Stringer/Getty Images]
