Editor’s Note: On Wednesday when hosting five African leaders at a trade summit in Washington, U.S. President Donald Trumps appeared to have been blown away by the eloquence of Liberian President Joseph Boakai.
His reaction to the West African leader has generated debated across the world as Boakai trends globally. The Oracle News Daily publishes some of the articles here.
US President Donald Trump praised Liberian President Joseph Boakai for his strong grasp of the English language on Wednesday. But the African leader was educated in Liberia, where English is the official language.
As he hosted five African leaders at the White House, Trump asked Boakai: “Such good English, it’s beautiful. Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?”
Boakai informed Trump of his place of education, prompting Trump to express his curiosity. “That’s very interesting,” he said, “I have people at this table who can’t speak nearly as well.”
Liberia was founded in 1822 by the American Colonization Society whose goal was to resettle freed slaves in Africa. The country declared independence from the American Colonization Society in 1847, and a variety of languages are spoken in the country today, with English being the official language.
Several Liberians voiced their offense over Trump’s comment to Boakai, given the US president’s past remarks on African countries and the colonial legacy left by the US organization in Liberia.
“I felt insulted because our country is an English-speaking country,” Archie Tamel Harris, a Liberian youth advocate, told CNN.
“For him to ask that question, I don’t see it as a compliment. I feel that the US president and people in the west still see Africans as people in villages who are not educated.”
A Liberian diplomat who asked not to be named told CNN that they felt the comment “was not appropriate.” The diplomat added that “it was a bit condescending to an African president who’s from an English-speaking nation.”
Veronica Mente, a South African politician, questioned on X: “what stops [Boakai] from standing up and leav[ing]?”
The White House Press Office defended Trump’s statement on Wednesday.
“I was in the meeting and everyone was deeply appreciative of the President’s time and effort. The continent of Africa has never had such a friend in the White House as they do in President Trump,” Massad Boulos, the Trump administration’s senior advisor for Africa, said in a statement to CNN.
White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said that Trump’s comment was a “heartfelt compliment” and that “reporters should recognize that President Trump has already done more to restore global stability and uplift countries in Africa and around the world than Joe Biden did in four years.”
Liberia’s Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti told CNN that “there was no offense” from the Liberian president’s perspective and that “many people do not understand the linguistic borders or linguistic demography of the African continent.”
“What President Trump heard distinctly was the American influence on our English in Liberia, and the Liberian president is not offended by that,” Nyanti said.
“We know that English has different accents and forms, and so him picking up the distinct intonation that has its roots in American English for us was just recognizing a familiar English version,” she continued.
Trump has previously applauded the English language abilities of other leaders during diplomatic meetings. During a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump complimented his “good English” and asked if it was as good as his German.
Merz laughed and noted that he tries to “understand almost everything” and said he makes an effort “to speak as good as I can.”
The US president has centered the English language as part of this “America First” platform. During a 2015 presidential debate, Trump asserted that the US is “a country where we speak English.” In March, he signed an executive order making English the official language of the US.
Trump has previously landed in hot water for things he has said about the African nations. In 2018, the president referred to migrants from African countries and other nations as coming from “shithole countries.”
In May, he lectured South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on false claims that White South African farmers are the victims of a genocide.
Trump struck a different tone on Wednesday as he met with the leaders of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal, praising their countries as “all very vibrant places with very valuable land, great minerals, great oil deposits, and wonderful people.”
In turn, he was met with approval from the African leaders, who heaped praise on the president as they urged him to invest in their countries and develop their plentiful natural resources.
Boakai even remarked that Liberia “(believes) in the policy of making America great again.”
-CNN
Crockett accuses Trump of being ‘racist and wrong’ for ‘blatantly offensive’ remark to Liberian leader (The Hill)
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) accused President Trump of being “racist and wrong” on Wednesday after Trump complimented Liberian President Joseph Boakai for speaking English, which is the primary language in his country.
“Trump never misses an opportunity to be racist and wrong, and every day he finds a new way to be embarrassing,” Crockett wrote on the social platform X along with a video of the White House exchange. “Asking the President of Liberia where he learned English when it’s literally the official language is peak ignorance.”
“I’m pretty sure being blatantly offensive is not how you go about conducting diplomacy,” she added.
Trump was hosting Boakai and other African leaders at the White House for a trade meeting. After Boakai’s introductory remarks, Trump jumped in with praise for the African leader’s English skills.
“Such good English, such beautiful,” Trump said. “Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?”
“Where were you educated? In Liberia? Well, that’s very interesting. It’s beautiful English,” he continued.
English is the official language of Liberia, which is located on Africa’s West Coast, though the country also is home to indigenous languages and an English variation known as Liberian English.
Boakai, who speaks English with a West African accent, laughed off Trump’s remark during the discussion and didn’t raise offense to Trump’s compliment.
Crockett, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus in her second House term, has been a vocal critic of Trump, frequently blasting his administration’s policies. Trump, in turn, has dismissed her criticism, calling her a “seriously low IQ individual.”
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields dismissed Crockett’s latest criticism in a statement to The Hill saying that Crockett would be “better suited as a reality TV star on VH1 than an elected official on Capitol Hill.”
“Jasmine Crockett has the brain capacity of a jellyfish and is the last person on Earth to critique anyone’s mental acuity, let alone intelligence,” Fields said. “The Democrats’ rising star has done more to cement the party’s demise than the President she breathlessly supported, the decrepit and feeble Joe Biden.”
