{"id":1681,"date":"2025-07-10T22:36:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T22:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/07\/10\/such-good-english-liberians-confused-angry-at-trump-comments-to-boakai\/"},"modified":"2025-07-10T22:36:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T22:36:20","slug":"such-good-english-liberians-confused-angry-at-trump-comments-to-boakai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/07\/10\/such-good-english-liberians-confused-angry-at-trump-comments-to-boakai\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Such good English\u2019: Liberians confused, angry at Trump comments to Boakai"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Liberians are expressing confusion and anger after United States President Donald Trump praised the English skills of their country\u2019s President Joseph Boakai.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuch good English,\u201d Trump said to Boakai at the White House<\/a> on Wednesday, with visible surprise. \u201cSuch beautiful English.\u201d<\/p>\n

English has been the West African nation\u2019s official language since the 1800s. But Trump did not stop there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere did you learn to speak so beautifully?\u201d he continued, as Boakai murmured a response. \u201cWhere were you educated? Where? In Liberia?\u201d<\/p>\n

The exchange took place during a meeting in the White House between Trump and five West African leaders, amid a pivot from aid to trade in US foreign policy.<\/p>\n

Liberia has had deep ties with Washington for centuries, stemming from the drive to relocate freed slaves from the US.<\/p>\n

Foday Massaquio, chairman of the opposition Congress for Democratic Change-Council of Patriots, said that while the remarks were typical of Trump\u2019s engagement with foreign leaders, what some saw as a condescending tone was amplified by the fact that the leaders were African.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a matter of fact, it also proves that the West is not taking us seriously as Africans,\u201d he said. \u201cPresident Trump was condescending; he was very disrespectful to the African leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kula Fofana, spokesperson for Boakai\u2019s office, told the Associated Press news agency: \u201cI believe that as journalists, it is important to focus on the substantive discussions at the summit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe find it a good thing that President Trump is commending our president for his way of speaking and the clarity he provided during the meeting,\u201d she added. \u201cHowever, we look forward to achieving the substantive request specifically engaging in a stronger bilateral relationship with the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sara Beysolow Nyanti, Liberia\u2019s foreign minister, said on X that \u201cPresident Trump\u2019s comment on Boakai\u2019s \u2018beautiful English\u2019 simply acknowledged Liberia\u2019s familiar American-rooted accent and no offence was taken\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur linguistic heritage is deeply American\u2011influenced, & this was simply recognised by Donald Trump. We remain committed to strengthening Liberia\u2011US ties, built on mutual respect, shared values, and meaningful partnership,\u201d the minister said.<\/p>\n

\"US
US President Donald Trump participates in a multilateral lunch with visiting African Leaders in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, the US on July 9, 2025 [AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Close relationship in the past<\/h2>\n

But for others, Trump\u2019s comments added to the sense of betrayal that became palpable in Liberia in recent months.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, the Trump administration dissolved the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and said it was no longer following what it called \u201ca charity-based foreign aid model\u201d.<\/p>\n

That decision sent shock waves across Liberia, where US support made up almost 2.6 percent of the gross national income, the highest percentage anywhere in the world, according to the Center for Global Development.<\/p>\n

Liberians thought they would be spared from Trump\u2019s cuts because of the countries\u2019 close relationship. Their political system is modelled on that of the US, along with its flag. Liberians often refer to the US as their \u201cbig brother\u201d.<\/p>\n

Liberia was one of the first countries to receive USAID support, starting in 1961. Its street signs, taxis and school buses resemble those in New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiberia is a longstanding friend of the USA, therefore Trump should have understood that we speak English as an official language,\u201d said Moses Dennis, 37, a businessman from Monrovia. He added that Boakai did not go to Washington for \u201can English-speaking competition\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Liberia
The Liberian flag, above, is modelled on the US flag [File: Luc Gnago\/Reuters[<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018Condescending and ridiculing\u2019<\/h2>\n

Dennis\u2019s views were echoed by Siokin Civicus Barsi-Giah, a close associate of Liberia\u2019s former President George Weah.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiberia is an English-speaking country,\u201d he said. \u201cFormer slaves and slave owners decided to organise themselves to let go of many people who were in slavery in the United States of America, and they landed on these shores now called the Republic of Liberia.\u201d<\/p>\n

For him, the exchange was \u201ccondescending and ridiculing\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph Boakai was not praised. He was mocked by the greatest president in the world, who is leading the greatest country in the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Some, however, said that given Trump\u2019s style, Wednesday\u2019s remarks were meant as praise.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo some, the comment may carry a whiff of condescension, echoing a longstanding Western tendency to express surprise when African leaders display intellectual fluency,\u201d said Abraham Julian Wennah, director of research at the African Methodist Episcopal University. \u201cIn postcolonial contexts, language has long been weaponised to question legitimacy and competence.\u201d<\/p>\n

But if one looks at \u201cTrump\u2019s rhetorical style\u201d, the remarks were \u201can acknowledgment of Boakai\u2019s polish, intellect and readiness for global engagement\u201d, Wennah added.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Liberians are expressing confusion and anger after United States President Donald Trump praised the English skills of their country\u2019s President Joseph Boakai. \u201cSuch good English,\u201d Trump said to Boakai at the White House on Wednesday, with visible surprise. \u201cSuch beautiful English.\u201d English has been the West African nation\u2019s official language since the 1800s. But Trump … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}