Donald Trump to sign new executive order making English the official language of the US
Topics: Donald Trump, US News
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Anna Moneymaker
Topics: Donald Trump, US News
Donald Trump has plans to sign a new executive order to make English the official language of the United States, according to multiple White House sources.
It would be a pretty historic move due to the fact that while English is the most commonly used language in the US, the country has never had an official language at the federal level.
During his presidential campaign, Trump raised concerns about migrant students who don’t speak English and were unable to communicate effectively with their classmates.
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He said last year: "We have languages coming into our country. We don’t have one instructor in our entire nation that can speak that language.
"These are languages—it’s the craziest thing—they have languages that nobody in this country has ever heard of. It’s a very horrible thing."
While during the 2016 presidential race, where Trump ultimately beat Hilary Clinton to The White House, the president slammed then Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for speaking Spanish while campaigning.
"This is a country where we speak English, not Spanish," Trump said.
Well, as per a report by The Wall Street Journal, Trump is taking the steps to rescind a federal mandate issued by President Bill Clinton.
It made agencies provide language assistance to non-English speakers - something which is about to change, according to sources close to The White House.
While agencies are still able to provide these documents, the Wall Street Journal reports that the order would 'promote unity, establish efficiency in the government and provide a pathway to civic engagement'.
It comes after the president met the British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in Washington on Thursday (February 27).
Trump greeted Starmer as he arrived at The White House, in what has been dubbed an 'awkward' interaction.
Body language expert Adam Lyons, who commented on behalf of BetUS, spoke to UNILAD about this interaction and claimed the pair essentially locked horns in a game for dominance.
Lyons theorised: “Trump pushed his hand over on the handshake to ‘dominate’ and held it too long.. Starmer felt it and even moved his hand to the sleeve after it to ‘fix’ his clothing.
“Also Trump did a shoulder grab to assert dominance. And then Starmer tried to fight back by putting his hand on his shoulder too… but wasn’t able to get the leverage.”