Trump Mispronounces His Own Daughter-in-Law’s Name in an Embarrassing Mix-Up

Former President Donald Trump mispronounced his daughter-in-law Lara Trump's name during a press conference in North Carolina on Monday, according to Newsweek. The slip occurred as Trump spoke alongside officials aiding in the cleanup efforts after Hurricane Helene's devastation in the swing state. During the press event, Trump referred to Lara by two different pronunciations—first as "Lah-ra" and then later as "Lor-rah" (similar to Laura).

When asked if he was confident about winning the state, Trump responded, "I think we're going to do good, and we have Lara. So, Laura is a fantastic person, an unbelievably smart person who works with and knows everybody here and she loves this state." Lara, who is married to Donald's son Eric Trump and serves as co-chair of the Republican National Committee, has been an active figure in his political campaigns. On Monday, Trump mentioned that she was working elsewhere in North Carolina.

This mispronunciation follows previous incidents when Trump was questioned over his cognitive abilities. Just a day earlier, during a town hall event, Trump mistakenly called anchor Sage Steele "Paige," and his decision to pause an event last week to play music further fueled speculations. But this isn't the first time Trump has stumbled over names, including when it came to Vice President Kamala Harris. In a video shared by ABC News, Donald repeatedly stressed the wrong syllable in Harris' name while mocking her.

In a 2024 CNN segment, correspondent Brianna Keilar showcased a video where Trump spoke to a Florida campaign rally crowd about the pronunciation of Harris’ name, saying, "Don't worry about it, [it] doesn't matter what I say. I couldn't care less if I mispronounce it or not, I couldn't care less." Keilar pointed out that this was not unusual for Trump. "Trump has a history of mispronouncing names, specifically of people who aren't white," she noted.

Keilar continued, "For example, the biggest promoter of the birther conspiracy is also the self-proclaimed president of the Barack Obama middle name fan club." The host then played a clip showing Trump emphasizing Barack Obama’s middle name, Hussein, to a booing crowd: "Barack H. Obama. Barack Hussein Obama." Keilar pointed out other instances where Trump employed this tactic.

Similarly, In January 2024, Trump aimed at opponent Nikki Haley in a Truth Social post, deliberately misspelling her first name. He wrote, "Anyone listening to Nikki 'Nimrada' Haley's wacked out speech last night would think that she won the Iowa Primary." For reference, Haley's actual name is Nimrata, a reflection of her Indian heritage. In the same post, Trump also targeted Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, referring to him with the mocking nickname 'Ron DeSanctimonious.' 

According to Mediate, Trump’s habit of name-calling became so well-known that during the Democratic National Convention, a comedy sketch featured mispronunciations of his then-Vice President Mike Pence’s name as 'Ponts' and 'Pints,' with the comedians jokingly remarking it sounded like some 'weird foreign name' and 'not very American.'