Speed Reads
Well played
The first lady of Japan apparently pretended not to speak English to avoid talking to Trump
Japan's first lady Akie Abe's silence at a recent G-20 summit dinner has left President Trump convinced that she can't speak English. In an interview with The New York Times published Wednesday night, Trump said he found Abe to be a "terrific woman," but noted the fact that she "doesn't speak English" made it "hard" to sit next to her at the dinner that lasted nearly two hours.
"Like, nothing, right? Like zero?" The New York Times' Maggie Haberman clarified. "Like, not 'hello,'" Trump said.
But this keynote address Abe gave in 2014 suggests not only can she say hello in English — she can deliver an entire speech:
Perhaps Abe just wanted to avoid nearly two hours of dinnertime conversation with Trump?