The story of Nambia, a fictional country Donald Trump invented at the UN General Assembly
Have you heard of a country called Nambia? You may have heard of Zambia and Namibia, but Donald Trump is gearing up to improve the healthcare infrastructure in this fictional country.
A single alphabet separates the name of a country in south-western Africa, from an entirely fictional appellation that rhymes with Gambia and Zambia. And no statesman wants to make the mistake of telling a room full of African leaders about 'Nambia's' improving heathcare infrastructure.
On Wednesday, at the United Nations General Assembly, Donald Trump did.
"Nambia's heath system is increasingly self-sufficient," said the US President, whose catastrophic spelling is well-documented.
And he said the word twice. Take a look.
"There is no such country as Nambia. Despite that, they will soon have a better healthcare system than we do. I might move to Nambia. I hear very good things," joked the American late night talk show host Stephen Colbert.
He also tweeted about it.
Can't wait for Trump to visit Nambia and their technologically advanced neighbors in Wakanda. https://t.co/cfsT5yT35j- Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) September 21, 2017
"Maybe it's a combination of Namibia, which is a real place...and Narnia, which is not, though I wish it were - I would love to go there if only I could fit through that wardrobe," said CNN's Anderson Cooper. He was alluding to the fictional kingdom in CS Lewis' fantasy novel series, The Chronicles of Narnia.
A transcript of Donald Trump's speech published by the White House uses the correct spelling.
Namibia, a country on Africa's Atlantic coast, is wedged between South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Angola. On a map, it appears to stretch an outstretched hand between three of its neighbours to touch the tip of Zimbabwe, but does not share a border with it.
Namibia's president, Hage Geingob, was in the room when Donald Trump mispronounced his country's name. But he didn't immediately correct his US president, the Washington Post reported.
But Twitterati were far less merciful. Predictably, there was a hashtag.
Let's begin with this Nigerian pro-life activist, who wants Trump to mispronounce the name of every African nation. Here's why.
Here's what our streets look like when flooded but CNN/BBC isn't leading with that.We're non-news until Trump mispronounces our name.#Nambia pic.twitter.com/bFVdZwMZmg- Obianuju Ekeocha (@obianuju) September 21, 2017
Dear Pres Trump @realDonaldTrump here is a list of the 54 African countries! Mispronounce them all so CNN, BBC et.al will notice us! #Nambia pic.twitter.com/UH5IdoW0A7- Obianuju Ekeocha (@obianuju) September 21, 2017
The meme-factory hummed and clinked merrily.
Many Twitter users remembered another Trump coinage: covfefe. Here's an example.Namibia, Zambia & The Gambia's reaction when Trump refers to #Nambia. pic.twitter.com/omwRlrMOJz- TheGangMakesaPodcast (@TheGangPodcast) September 21, 2017
To the point. #Covfefe #Nambia pic.twitter.com/lMh4QZEqMp- Lutz Schmitt (@luxux) September 22, 2017
Thankfully, Trump hasn't yet mispronounced India. But last October, he did tell a crowd of Indian-Americans that he was "a big fan of Hindu."
Hindus? Hindusim? Or the newspaper?