The first sign language interpreter for Joe Biden's White House spokesperson has ties to the American far right.
She also supports former President Donald Trump.
An incongruity of which several associations were moved and that the Biden administration was keen to quickly correct.
It's kind of a false start for the White House.
From his early days at the helm of the United States, Joe Biden and his administration wanted to make sign language translation a symbol of unity and inclusion, but an incongruous event struck that desire.
Heather Mewshaw, who served as the first translator for US Presidency spokeswoman Jen Psaki, was actually a pro-Trump activist, close to far-right networks.
Conspiracy Videos
Heather Mewshaw is very active in a group of performers called "The Hands of Liberty", which regularly appears in conspiratorial videos on the effectiveness of vaccines against Covid, on the alleged theft of the last presidential election or on the riots from the Capitol.
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In one of these videos, the activist repeats the words of a far-right commentator who compares the presidential election to a military-level infiltration operation.
And just days before her translation by White House spokeswoman Heather Mewshaw appeared, red "Make America Great Again" cap on her head, to thank President Donald Trump.
No comment from the White House
The deaf and dumb associations were moved by this incursion and asked the White House to conduct a thorough verification of its interpreters, because they use pictorial expressions to translate the speeches.
Biases are also possible.
As of Monday, a petition collected several thousand signatures calling for the departure of Heather Mewshaw.
The White House did not comment, but the translator did not reappear and several different interpreters followed one another during the week to translate the press conference.