Trump at the Shield of the Americas Summit

President Donald Trump stood before the leaders of 12 Latin American nations on Saturday and told them, flatly, that he would not be learning their 'damn language.' The remark landed during the inaugural Shield of the Americas summit at Trump National Doral Miami, his golf resort in Florida, where heads of state had gathered to sign on to a US-led counter-cartel coalition.

'I'm not learning your damn language,' Trump said. 'I don't have time. I was okay with languages, but I'm not going to spend time learning your language. That much I won't do. Just give me a good interpreter,' according to Mediaite.

Trump was praising Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, for his ability to connect with the region's leaders in Spanish. He joked that Rubio had a 'language advantage' over him. Rubio later addressed the presidents in both English and Spanish. 'We don't need an interpreter for this one,' he quipped.

'I Only Speak American'

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth picked up where Trump left off. 'Mr President, I only speak American,' Hegseth told the room to a muted response, The Daily Beast reported.

Trump then went on about interpreters, complaining that a female translator had recently condensed his 'long, flowing, beautiful' sentences into something far shorter than he expected. 'Their language may be efficient, but it's not that efficient,' he said.

Nearly 60 million people in the United States speak Spanish, roughly 14 per cent of the population.

Twelve Leaders Signed On at Doral

The summit brought together presidents from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago, NPR reported. Argentine President Javier Milei, El Salvador's Nayib Bukele, and Chilean President-elect Jose Antonio Kast were among those present. Brazil, Mexico and Colombia did not attend.

Trump signed a proclamation establishing an Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition. The State Department said the initiative would 'advance strategies that stop foreign interference' in the hemisphere, targeting cartels and illegal immigration. Countering Chinese influence in the region is another stated goal.

'The only way to defeat these enemies is by unleashing the power of our militaries,' Trump told the group. 'We have to use our military. You have to use your military.'

Noem Handed New Role Days After Losing Cabinet Post

Kristi Noem, removed as Homeland Security Secretary earlier in the week, was at the summit in a new capacity. Trump named her Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. 'You will see a lot of her,' Rubio told the leaders as he introduced Noem. 'She'll be very involved with each of you at a personal level and on a daily, weekly, and monthly level,' ABC News reported.

Noem said the focus would be on destroying cartels and keeping adversaries out of the hemisphere. 'Now that America is secure, and our borders are secure, we want to focus on our neighbours and help our neighbours with their borders,' she said.

Video Spreads as Reactions Pour In

Footage of Trump's language remarks spread rapidly online. Multiple outlets picked up the clip, and it drew thousands of reactions, with some calling the comment disrespectful and others defending it as typical Trump humour.

The summit replaced the traditional Summit of the Americas, which was scrapped during the US military buildup off Venezuela's coast last year. That gathering was meant to include 34 nations. Saturday's attracted fewer than a third of that.

Trump also aimed at Cuba, calling the island ' at the end of the line' with 'no money' and 'no oil.' He stopped short of a direct threat but indicated change was coming. The Doral resort is also scheduled to host the G20 summit later this year.

Originally published on IBTimes UK