Not knowing how to spell “Colombia” didn’t stop the Trump administration from trying to start a trade war with the country. Earlier this week, Trump’s aggressive detention and deportation efforts hit a snag when Colombia refused to accept two U.S. military planes deporting immigrants. The White House addressed the matter with a press release, only to misspell Colombia as “Columbia.” People on social media were quick to ridicule the mistake, even as the Colombian President took steps to defuse tensions and avoid tariffs. Here’s why the trade war is off and why that hasn’t ended the social media mockery.
Trump Team Mocked For Misspelling and More
Many on social media have been quick to denounce the Trump administration’s detainment and deportation efforts. A TikTok on the subject by @aaronparnas1 garnered over 136k likes and plentiful comments denouncing the apparent incompetency of the Trump White House. After Trump threatened to impose a 25% (later 50%) tariff on Colombian goods, Colombian President Gustavo Petro retaliated with a matching threat to impose a tariff on U.S. goods. President Petro has since walked back that statement, however, agreeing to let Trump’s deportation efforts continue, at least for now.
The absurdity of threatening a country you can’t even spell the name of wasn’t lost in the comment section. As one TikToker put it, “Experts warn, Donald trump is dangerously close to figuring out where Colombia is. [sic]” Spelling mistakes, however egregious, usually aren’t reasons for deeper concern. Social media users, however, seemed happy to cite the misspelling as yet another example of the administration’s incompetency. As one commenter on @aaronparnas1’s video put it,
The White House has never had mistakes like that one BECAUSE, it was always run by PROFESSIONAL/ QUALIFIED individuals. Not a bunch of morons 🤦♀️
Donald Trump has suspended U.S. tariffs against Colombia since the South American country has agreed to accept migrants deported from the U.S. That reportedly includes those transported on U.S. military aircraft, something President Petro had previously avoided. Trump’s willingness to threaten tariffs and sanctions to achieve his geopolitical goals isn’t a surprise. It should, however, be a concern. Such actions could entrench America in isolationism and punish people already struggling to keep food on the table with even higher prices. That won’t go over well no matter how it’s spelled.
