Theory: When 45 said what sounds like "this rusher story", during the Holt interview in which he

[greyl]

admitted obstructing justice, that pronunciation was the initial split-second product of his intent to deceive, feigning ignorance.
In other words, "I'm so distant from and know so little about Russia, that I'm not even familiar with how to pronounce it. Rusher? What? Russia?"

That reflex pronunciation of his has bothered me for while.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. It's just his NY accent.

[greyl]

2. (joking, right?) nt

[Eyeball_Kid]

3. Some New Yorkers place an "R" on the end some words. I remember this from the 1960s.

I had some teachers who were from New York and the northeast.

[greyl]

4. But not Donald in this case. I've never heard him pronounce it that way ever again.

Nail in the box, is that he pronounced it correctly for the rest of the interview.

[NanceGreggs]

5. It's true.

I'm from Brooklyn. Many of my family and friends did it when they wanted to sound less NY, and more intellectual. But it was only used in certain situations - like a job interview, making a speech - never in normal conversation.

[greyl]

6. It's true that most New Yorker's pronounce Russia as Rusher?

Or just Brooklyn?

Edit: Seriously, nobody says "rusher" meaning "Russia", like 45 did in that interview. If I see/hear another example, I'll retract.

[Thor_MN]

7. With some accents, a word ending in a vowel, followed by a word starting in a vowel,

elicits an "R" sound between the words. I don't know why, but "Russia is a country" comes out "Russia r is a country", while "America consists of 50 states" has no "R" inserted. Depending on the pacing, the "R" seems to one word or the other, usually the first.

My guess is that in the context you heard it, the next word started with a vowel.

To my Midwest ears, the extra "R" sounds odd.

[greyl]

8. No need to guess, the video will be played to death in the coming weeks.

Thank you!

[ecstatic]

11. Bernie says Rusher and Chiner, which grates on my ears

He's from Brooklyn, but so am I, and I don't know anyone else who does that.

[NanceGreggs]

15. No, most NYers don't ...

... but many do. And as I said, it's only in certain situations.

I was with a NY friend who was making phone calls about getting a teaching job here in Toronto.

His name was Battaglia. I kept hearing him introduce himself as Matt "Battaglier". His wife and I couldn't stop laughing. He never did that unless he was in a situation where he wanted to impress.

Some NYers, who never pronounce the "R" where there actually is one at the end of a word, will pronounce it clearly in the same types of situation; e.g. people who normally say "winta" to describe a cold season will say "winter" - the "R" sound as clear as a bell.

I don't recall any Manhattanites doing it - but it was prevalent among my family and friends in Brooklyn and Queens.

[greyl]

16. Thanks for that. Funny, an * Battaglia was a friend of mine in the late seventies.

When we were about 10 - 11. Baltimore.

[Control-Z]

12. Remember JFK saying Cubar?

It's common in the North East.

[greyl]

13. Yes, that's true. Reconfiguring opinion appropriately... nt

[Kirk Lover]

14. No it's not a joke...it's definitely his New Yawk accent.

[LuckyCharms]

9. I agree. n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

10. The Kennedy's accent often added an R sound to the end of words ending in vowels

There is most famous example in JFK's and RFK's pronunciation of "Cubar" for Cuba.

I agree that the "Russier" from Trump in that interview sounded odd (for him) but it isn't all that unusual in comment speech in his part of the world. I'm a New Englander and it is very common to hear in certain areas and not unusual generally.

I also agree that it is quite likely,in his case, in that interview, a tell that he was lying.