TV Host Tomi Lahren May Have Accidentally Insulted Donald Trump In Hindi
Hindi is not everybody’s cup of tea. In fact, any foreign language can be tricky if one doesn’t know them properly. This is exactly what has happened US conservative political commentator and TV host Tomi Lahren - as she may have accidentally called Trump an idiot, not in English but in Hindi.
"Ullu" is the Hindi for an owl and that is what Lahren used as an adjective intensifier for the POTUS. But, it’s not as straight as it sounds.
According to Hindu religious mythology, the owl is the carrier Lakhsmi who is the goddess of wealth. Hindu followers believe that the bird is synonymous with stealth and wisdom and is total divine.
However, in common parlance, an owl is generally used as a word to point out idiocy and stupidity in an individual. So one’s got to be very careful while using owl or ullu in a statement. Unfortunately, Ms. Lahren wasn’t.
In her latest viral video, Ms. Lahren expresses her thankfulness to the Indian Diaspora for showing active and enormous support to Trump’s Make America Great Again strategy.
Well, it was all good in English until she translated that into Hindi. Ms. Lahren’s innocent mistake came as she said, "President Trump is wise like an owl, or as you say in Hindi, wise like an ullu,"
Comedian Ali-Asghar Abedi told BBC that he used an app called Cameo on Ms. Lahren. The app allows the user to pay celebrities and the public to say whatever they are asked. The comedian further added that he waged $85 and was all but sure that a Trump supporter wouldn’t move to look up the meaning of "ullu."
Ms. Lahren is a popular blogger boasting millions of followers on Facebook. Although her videos frequently turn out to be virals, the "ullu" blunder has gone to another level. The word "ullu" is one of the top trends on Twitter.
Since the release of the video, Ms. Lahren hasn’t said a word on the issue. It’s not sure how it's going to come to Indian-origin voters in the country.
In 2016, only 16 percent of Indian Americans voted for Trump. However, the numbers may spike as Trump has made enormous efforts to get the attention of people of Indian origin. He invited Indian Prime Minister to America and earlier this year, he even visited India. In addition, he considers himself to be Modi’s best friend. With "ullu" trending, Trump has, no doubt, got an Indian American's attention.