Rabat — US President Donald Trump has once again made headlines for making controversial remarks that sparked criticism online, with what many described as “racist” comments on Liberian President Joseph Boakai’s English.
While hosting leaders from five African countries at the White House on Wednesday, Trump remarked that he was impressed by Boakai’s English.
The Liberian president said, “we want to work with the United States in peace and security within the region because we are committed to that,” to which Trump commented that the Liberian president spoke “beautiful English,” asking where he learned it from.
When Boakai responded that he learned English in his country – as, clearly unbeknownst to Trump, English is the official language of the West African country. Trump added that he was impressed and that he had some “people at this table who can’t speak nearly as well,” referring to the Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, who was speaking French instead.
Continuing with his diplomatic blunders, Trump also gestured to the Mauritanian President to speed up his talk when speaking, saying, in a way that many described as humiliating, “Maybe we’re gonna have to go a bit quicker than this, because we have a whole schedule.”
“If I could just ask your name, and your country, would be great,” he added.
In a post on X, US Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett wrote that the comments on Boakai’s English were “peak ignorance,” especially knowing that English is Liberia’s official language. Not only that, but Liberia’s history is implicitly tied with the United States, as it was founded in 1822 for freed African American slaves by the American Colonization Society, before its independence in 1847.
Meanwhile, the White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said that Trump’s comment was a “heartfelt compliment” from Trump’s side.
The meeting over lunch at the White House included the political leadership of five West African countries, namely Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal.
Trump opened his speech by saying that the leaders at the table came from “very vibrant places with very valuable land, great minerals, great oil deposits, and wonderful people.”
The African leaders, who outlined the richness of their countries’ untapped natural resources, showed appreciation for being invited to the meeting, calling on Trump to come and invest in their countries.
