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Is Melania Trump fluent in five languages? Rumors emerge on Twitter after Jill Biden's botched Spanish attempt

As First Lady Jill Biden's failed Spanish attempt goes viral, we look at Melania's claim that she can speak five languages

First Lady Jill Biden came under fire after an attempt at Spanish went awkwardly wrong. Attempting to say 'yes we can', to farmers in California, Biden's pronunciation became the subject of great trolling online. If the incident is anything to go by, language may not be the First Lady's strong suit. What about the former First Lady though?

Melania Trump's name began trending on social media as many compared the two FLOTUS' language skills. It also sparked rumors that she could speak multiple languages, a claim that she herself made years ago. Is it true Trump can speak five languages? It's hard to tell, since we don't have much information to refer to.  

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In a 2016 interview with MSNBC, Trump said, "I speak a few languages. English, Italian, French, German." As a native of Slovenia, it is also likely she can speak Slovenian fluently. We know she speaks English and has given a large number of interviews in the language since becoming a public figure. What about Italian, French, and German? Snopes did a bit of digging and failed to find any samples of Trump speaking these languages in the past. In fact, her claim may be completely false if you look at her history during her time in the White House.

In May 2107, the Trumps visited Rome and met with the Pope. The pontiff jokingly asked the then-FLOTUS in Italian what she feeds her husband, but it appears that she did not understand the question. As the report shows, a translator was required before Trump could answer. Later on that trip, a video from Rome Reports shows Trump in a children's hospital but speaking only a few rudimentary phrases of Italian. 

As for French, it appears as though she has an equally poor grasp of the language. In 2018, she visited France but did not appear at any point to speak French. During a visit to another hospital, she did say 'hello' 'my name is Melania' in French, but then reverted back to English. There are no available videos of her speaking German at all. 

From these videos, we can surmise that maybe Trump can't speak five languages. She seems to be aware of a few phrases in French and Italian, but that hardly qualifies as 'fluency'. For now, we can assume that she is fluent in only Slovenian and English, which is still one more than the current FLOTUS. Jill Biden is an English teacher and has never claimed to be able to speak another language.

How many languages the two women can speak is certainly up for debate, and social media jumped on that opportunity. There's now a raging battle online the language skills of Trump and Biden, with trolls attacking both women.

Internet divided, trolls both FLOTUS'

As Trump's name resurfaced, many picked on her old claim of being able to speak five languages. One user said, "If Melania is fluent in 5 languages, English isn't one of them." Another joked, "Melania speaks five languages is the April Fool's joke that never gets old."

Another took a not-so-subtle dig at the MAGA crowd, tweeting, "Folks who are proudly saying that Melania speaks five languages are the same people who get offended when they hear people speaking languages other than English in the US." One user trolled, ""Melania is fluent in 5 languages " Yet you can not understand a word she utters"

Others used Biden's botched attempt to pick on her and compare her to her predecessor. Author Nick Adams tweeted, "Watching Jill Biden botch basic Spanish makes me miss Melania Trump, an extraordinary First Lady who is fluent in five languages." Comedian Matt Walsh said, "I don't know if there are words to fully convey how hilarious it is that "Dr" Jill Biden butchered the Spanish language while giving a speech in front of a Nazi flag"

Another joked, "What language is Jill trying to speak? She should call Melania for lessons." One more person said "Taco Bell speaks better Spanish than Dr Jill Biden. If you don’t believe me then go through their drive thru."

The current FLOTUS is in Delano, California to celebrate César Chávez day with farmworkers, while encouraging them to get vaccinated. She appeared along with Governor Gavin Newsom at the event, where she said, "Yes, we can—Si, se pwodway!" Her mispronunciation caught the eye of news outlets and social media users instantly but did not seem to affect those at the event. Responding to her call, attendees chanted back "Si, se puede!" As of the time of writing, neither the First Lady nor the White House has addressed the slip-up.