Donald Trump said Saturday he has no idea where the word “mountain” came from, but said the phrase is a “legendary word” from the northern United States.
The president also said the term is part of the American tradition of saying “mountains,” which is one of the oldest words in the English language.
“The mountain goat is one thing, but the word is the mountain goat, so the word mountain has to do with a certain kind of mountain,” Trump said during a speech in Washington, D.C., in which he also called for the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“It’s a legend.
It’s a real thing.”
Trump’s remarks, during a news conference on Friday, came after he retweeted a video showing a goat in the desert and later told reporters he did not know what the goat’s name was.
The goat in question is a member of the herd at the Hartford, Michigan, zoo.
Trump has long been a proponent of the concept of the mountain as a symbol of American identity and a place to celebrate the country’s rich history.
But he has also pushed for the federal government to protect endangered species in order to protect the “mountaine” word from being lost in the changing lexicon of language.
On Thursday, Trump also criticized the National Park Service for refusing to recognize a mountain that he said was “a real thing” in the United States.
“They’re not really saying that because they have no history.
They’re saying, ‘Mountain’ is a real word,” Trump told reporters.
“I know that’s a big, big deal.
That’s a huge problem.”