Trump Lawyers Say Sign Language Interpreters Would Visually Compete With Trump During Press Briefings

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Trump administration lawyers argued in federal appeals court this week that mandatory sign language interpreters at White House briefings would create unacceptable “visual competition” with the president’s “carefully calibrated hand movements.”

The argument comes as part of the administration’s appeal of a November ruling ordering the White House to restore ASL interpreters at press conferences, following a lawsuit filed by the National Association of the Deaf. Advocates say the administration’s failure to consistently provide interpreters violates disability law. Trump’s legal team disagrees—on aesthetic grounds.

“At its core, this case is about message clarity,” one attorney told the court, explaining that the presence of an interpreter could “draw the eye away from the president’s hands at critical moments.” The lawyer added that the Constitution does not require the president to “share his visual authority.”

According to court filings, the administration believes additional on-camera gesturing could dilute Trump’s “image,” forcing him to compete with someone who is “also moving their hands, but with purpose.” Lawyers noted that transcripts and captions already exist, arguing that real-time interpreters could confuse viewers by introducing a second, potentially coherent visual element.

The judge, described by witnesses as “blinking slowly,” asked whether the White House was seriously arguing that having a sign language interpreter on screen was a problem. Trump’s lawyers responded that the presidency requires a “single gestural narrative,” warning that multiple hand-based messages could fracture public understanding.

The court has not yet ruled, though sources say several judges briefly stared at their own hands afterward, apparently trying to make sense of the argument they’d just heard.