Trump Stumbles Over Words Again, Mispronounces ‘Vegan’ During Wisconsin Rally
Joshua Roberts / Reuters
Former President Donald Trump made another verbal misstep during a rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin, when he mispronounced the word “vegan” while introducing a local restaurant owner. According to HuffPost, the fast-food-loving Republican leader referred to the plant-based lifestyle as “vaigan” during his speech.
“Supposed to be really good. I’m not into the vaigan stuff, I must say, but I’m gonna have to try this,” Trump said. “When we come here in a short period of time, into Milwaukee, we’re gonna come and try that vaigan food. I don’t know if I’m going to like it.”
As per USA Today, This is not the first time Trump has fumbled his words in public. In 2020, during a White House ceremony for a bipartisan conservation law, he famously mispronounced “Yosemite,” turning it into “Yo-se-Might” and “Yo-se-min-night,” which garnered significant media attention.
“When young Americans experience the breathtaking beauty of the Grand Canyon when their eyes widen in amazement as Old Faithful bursts into the sky, when they gaze upon Yosemite’s — Yosemite’s towering sequoias, their love of country grows stronger and they know that every American has truly a duty to preserve this wondrous inheritance,” Trump said at the time, struggling with the name.
Trump has also had trouble with other place names. During a 2016 campaign rally, he insisted on pronouncing Nevada as “Neh-VAH-da,” despite locals preferring “Nev-ADD-a.” He similarly struggled with “Oregon,” pronouncing it “Ore-uh-Gone” instead of the more common “Ore-uh-gin.”
Recently, Trump has targeted Vice President Kamala Harris by deliberately mispronouncing her name. According to The New York Times, Harris pronounces her name as “KA-ma-la,” while Trump has been saying it as “Ka-MA-la” or “KUH-ma-la.” Defending himself, Trump said, “Some people think I mispronounce it on purpose, but actually, I’ve heard it said about seven different ways.”
He added, “By the way, there are numerous ways of saying her name. They were explaining to me, ‘You can say Kamala, you can say Kamala.’ I said, ‘Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t matter what I say. I couldn’t care less if I mispronounce it.’” In response, the Harris campaign released a video where Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff criticized Trump’s repeated mispronunciations, saying, “I know you have so much trouble pronouncing her name. But here’s the good news. After the election, you can just call her Madam President.”
Trump’s comments have drawn backlash online. “It’s like Trump and JD Vance are trying their hardest to turn off swing voters,” wrote Tonya Bailey on X, criticizing Trump’s deliberate mispronunciations. Another user added, “The racists love pretending not to know how to pronounce the name of a strong woman who’s held public office for 20 years.”
