Trump Mispronounces Name of Hindu Sacred Texts at India Rally

President Donald Trump’s visit to India got off to a less than auspicious start this week when he addressed a mass rally alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Though Trump lavished praise on the Indian leader, who’s been accused of authoritarianism and anti-Muslim bigotry, the President struggled to pronounce certain words.

Trump greeted the crowd by saying ‘Namaste’, the traditional greeting, before launching into a speech about the U.S./India relationship.

“India will always hold a very special place in our hearts,” Trump said. He went on to praise Modi.

“Everybody loves him but I will tell you this, he is very tough,” Trump said. “You are not just the pride of Gujarat, you are living proof that with hard work, Indians can accomplish anything they want.”

However, Trump managed to mangle the pronunciation of several words, including the name of the Hindu scriptures, the Vedas. Trump called them ‘the Vestas’ and made other mistakes, including mispronouncing the name of the city he was in (Ahmedabad) and a philosopher Modi admires (Swami Vivekananda).

“God bless India, God bless the United States of America – we love you, we love you very much,” Trump concluded, despite the fact that the Hindu religion has many gods.