President Trump said that Japanese first lady Akie Abe “doesn’t speak English,” although videos have shown her speaking the language.
Trump said in an interview with The New York Times on Wednesday that Abe, whom he called “a terrific woman,” doesn’t speak English, “Like, not ‘hello.’” He said a Japanese interpreter sat with them at the dinner.
But Abe has given at least one speech in English in the past, at the Ford Foundation in September 2014.
{mosads}Trump told The Times that he was seated with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife at the G-20 summit dinner earlier this month where he had a second conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Shinzo Abe visited Trump in February, holding a meeting and press conference at the White House before spending a weekend at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.