Elsa Maishman (Reporter)
DONALD Trump’s White House has been widely condemned for taking down the Spanish version of its website.
Just hours after Trump’s inauguration on Friday, the Spanish version of the White House website was taken down, along with information about climate change and LGBT rights.
Numerous celebrities and Spanish societies have spoken out about the move, labelling it as exclusionary.
The director of the Real Academia Española, well-respected guardian of the Spanish language, said that the move was “related to the expulsion of minorities.”
The director of the Instituto Cervantes added that the gesture was “symbolic but serious”.
The Spanish foreign minister Alfonso Dastis told reporters that it “doesn’t seem like a good idea”.
According to the US Census Bureau, there are almost 57 million Spanish speakers among the 320-million-strong US population.
The Obama administration had a regularly-updated Spanish version of the website, and even a Spanish-language Twitter account. George W. Bush’s administration also maintained a translation of the site in Spanish.
The White House has not responded to enquiries as to whether or not the move is permanent.
In 2015 Trump said during a debate that “to have a country, we have to have assimilation… This is a country where we speak English, not Spanish.”
It’s an English speaking country, learn English.
Shouldn’t this also apply to the Brits residing in Spain?
you are right!
Shouldn’t this also apply to Brits residing in Spain?
Worse still: ‘Trump White House Takes Down Native Americans Web Page from Website’.
Nearly 20% of the USA is Hispanic, and is expected to rise to nearly 30% by 2060. Might therefore be wise to keep a Spanish translation lol. As for the British residing in Spain, just about all the formal paperwork is in Spanish already, so it really makes no difference.
Seems to me that this article went to Press before the Government Press announcements made in the USA yesterday. This question was raised & the Press informed that the Spanish version was in the process of being updated…..not taken down forever.
If you cannot assimilate to the customs and language of the country you reside/have residence in, LEAVE!
Jesus Christ the intolerance shown in some of these comments makes me weep for the human race. learn the language or leave assimilate or leave. It takes time to do either and some help via websites allows this to happen. Leaving out Mandarin English and Spanish are the most widely spoken languages in the world. Are some of the people above suggesting you shouldn’t consider living in another country until you are fluent in the language or have had a full blood transfusion to turn you into a Spaniard or a German. Get a life people. Or would you prefer we went back to the thirties where intolerance abounded and was encouraged by the likes of Hitler and Mussolini.
It feels like the world has already taken that fork in the road Peter. One would be hard-pressed to identify a decent. fair un-prejudiced country anywhere.
peter, best ignore trolls like MDL.