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The ‘worst thing’: Meloni interpreter apologizes after stumble at White House
Politico ^ | April 19, 2025 | Sam Clark

Posted on 04/20/2025 9:26:24 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican

Giorgia Meloni’s interpreter has apologized for faltering during a high-stakes meeting with Donald Trump earlier this week, prompting the Italian prime minister to jump in and translate her own comments about NATO and defense spending.

Valentina Maiolini-Rothbacher, who was interrupted by Meloni when providing a translation at the White House meeting on Thursday, said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that the mishap was the “worst thing that can happen to an interpreter, a terrible setback.”

Footage of the meeting shows President Trump asking Maiolini-Rothbacher for a translation of Meloni’s response to a question from an Italian journalist about his position on Ukraine and military spending. Maiolini-Rothbacher appears to struggle with the translation, pausing several times and looking through her notes, before Meloni cuts her off and speaks to Trump in English.

(Excerpt) Read more at politico.eu ...


TOPICS: Politics
KEYWORDS: associatedpress; giorgiameloni; italy; maiolinirothbacher; meloni; politico; pollutico; samclark
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1 posted on 04/20/2025 9:26:24 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: MinorityRepublican

Fire her.

High stakes meeting.


2 posted on 04/20/2025 9:28:56 PM PDT by RushIsMyTeddyBear ("Uncle Sugar" is being audited and having an enema.)
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To: MinorityRepublican

anyone remember the phony sign language interpreter scandal


3 posted on 04/20/2025 9:32:59 PM PDT by Mount Athos
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To: Mount Athos

4 posted on 04/20/2025 9:47:33 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (“Diversity is our Strength” just doesn’t carry the same message as “Death from Above”)
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To: Mount Athos

I had a friend named Bob. He had a lab dog he called Tara. Neither I nor my father-in-law new the dogs name. We were bird hunting upland game birds and had reached our hunting area. We got out, let the dog out and she immediately took off going farther than Bob wanted and he hollered her name. Neither I nor my father-in-law heard what he said, so I asked Bob and he half turned and said Tara. Which we didn’t hear. I was about to ask Bob again when he got irritated and yelled “Hey dumbshit come back here’. I turned to my father-in-law and told him the dog’s name is dumbshit. Amusing hunting, not so much in world affairs. 😋


5 posted on 04/20/2025 9:47:38 PM PDT by Equine1952
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To: Mount Athos

Obama had a fake interpreter, when he and Mike went to the funeral of Nelson Mandela. Nobody seemed to have vetted him before the service. He was a hoot.


6 posted on 04/20/2025 9:50:11 PM PDT by lee martell
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To: lee martell

Did the fake interpreter use his middle finger to sign fairly often?


7 posted on 04/20/2025 9:53:31 PM PDT by Blue Highway
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To: lee martell

All the Dems love to virtue signal with them ALL THE TIME.

It’s absurd and stage craft.


8 posted on 04/20/2025 9:59:01 PM PDT by RushIsMyTeddyBear ("Uncle Sugar" is being audited and having an enema.)
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To: MinorityRepublican
I've noticed Meloni seems to have a hot temper.


9 posted on 04/20/2025 10:43:17 PM PDT by McGruff (Biden will go down in history as the worst president ever.)
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To: McGruff

She’s Italian.

Why wouldn’t she have a hot temper?


10 posted on 04/20/2025 11:47:53 PM PDT by T. Rustin Noone
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To: MinorityRepublican
Maiolini-Rothbacher appears to struggle with the translation, pausing several times and looking through her notes, before Meloni cuts her off and speaks to Trump in English.

I am retired now, but worked for many years as a (consecutive) court interpreter and as a simultaneous interpreter (in the booth, with headphones, etc.)

Until I am provided with the actual text which the interpreter fumbled, I am withholding judgement.

The interpreter may simply have been overly meticulous and perfectionistic with regards to the translation of a single technical word, attempting to find the exact, official translation of a certain legal term or slang phrase - while the Prime Minister got impatient and said to heck with it and improvised some approximation that filled the bill.

Regards,

11 posted on 04/21/2025 12:58:51 AM PDT by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
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To: T. Rustin Noone

Feisty is what I call it, perhaps Elon Musk likes his women feisty


12 posted on 04/21/2025 1:02:18 AM PDT by srmanuel
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To: alexander_busek

At one time in Miami’s Criminal Courts, Spanish interpreters would “generously interpret” LEGAL advise to the defendant.


13 posted on 04/21/2025 2:08:35 AM PDT by Does so ("The guilty flee when no man pursueth"....🇺🇦...Dem☭¢rat... ∅ ™ ¿ ¡ ☞≣ ½¼)
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To: alexander_busek

Congratulation!

Simultaneous interpreter, that’s really hard.
I know few languages, and I did some translations in the past, but I would never dare to attempt that.
It is just so hard, somehow think in two languages in the same time?!
This said, I have been in conferences, hearing both the original and the simultaneous translation, and they were often not too close!

So, if you can, skip the translator, you can often express yourself better than the translator can. Few times, I did talk over my translator in similar fashion like she did.

However, I observed, some people are using translators intentionally, just to slow down the discussion, and get themself more time to think!

E.G. Zelensky probably should do just that!


14 posted on 04/21/2025 2:46:22 AM PDT by AZJeep (sane )
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To: Equine1952

Not the first time a dogs named changed during a hunt.

Most of the names can not be repeated here.

I found a shock collar corrects most of them.


15 posted on 04/21/2025 3:08:46 AM PDT by riverrunner
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To: RushIsMyTeddyBear
Translating military and diplomatic words can be hard.

One of my friends found there was no English-Russian, Russian-English dictionary including military and diplomatic terms, so he wrote the book on those words.

Could be the same for other languages?

16 posted on 04/21/2025 3:40:55 AM PDT by Mogger ( 7th generation Vermonter, refugee in New Hampshire hoping NH remains sane.)
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To: MinorityRepublican

The global deep state never misses a trick.

Who would have thought the interpreters are all compromised?


17 posted on 04/21/2025 3:47:37 AM PDT by Jim Noble (Assez de mensonges et de phrases)
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To: T. Rustin Noone; McGruff
She’s Italian. Why wouldn’t she have a hot temper

*****

My wife’s Sicilian- trust me, I know…..

18 posted on 04/21/2025 4:10:33 AM PDT by telescope115 (I NEED MY SPACE!!! 🔭)
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To: AZJeep
Simultaneous interpreter, that’s really hard.

I can do it quite often in Spanish and yes, it is very difficult. People have no idea.

19 posted on 04/21/2025 4:17:37 AM PDT by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin (Freedom is the freedom to discipline yourself so others don't have to do it for you.)
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To: McGruff

“I’ve noticed Meloni seems to have a hot temper.”

Three types of hot temper...and I’ve had the displeasure of meeting all three at some point in my life.
1 - Italian women at any time...
2 - Hispanic women when you’re talking to another female...
3 - Irish (my current experience) whenever she feels like it. She can be sweet, then all of sudden - and without warning - do a 180 and throw some nice icy barbs at you. DO NOT even think about returning them.


20 posted on 04/21/2025 4:55:41 AM PDT by USAF1985 (Joe McCarthy is a hero...he was absolutely, 100% correct! (Let’s go Brandon!))
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