【By Observer Net, Qi Qian】On July 9 local time, the White House hosted a meeting similar to the "U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit." However, out of the more than 50 countries in the African continent, only five were invited to attend, while major countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, and Ethiopia were not invited.
The White House stated that President Trump discussed "business opportunities" with the leaders of the five African countries. However, during the lunch meeting, there were many awkward moments: Trump praised the English proficiency of the Liberian president and asked him where he learned such fluent English, completely unaware that English is the official language of the country; when the heads of state from African countries spoke, Trump made gestures in public and urged the pace, looking impatient.
These videos spread rapidly on social media, and netizens around the world mocked Trump for his ignorance and arrogance. An anonymous Liberian diplomat said that Trump's behavior was "a bit condescending." The youth of Liberia directly stated that they felt "insulted," and that Trump and Westerners still regard Africans as "uneducated villagers."
American cable news network CNN reported on the 9th that Trump's performance during the meeting triggered criticism from various sectors in Africa.
A South African scholar told CNN that the United States carefully selected the participating countries, first to eye their mineral resources, and second to counter the influence of China and Russia in Africa. The scholar specifically mentioned that Trump called the U.S. policy toward Africa "from aid to trade," which nominally aims to help Africa achieve self-reliance, but actually serves as an excuse for Trump to refuse aid to Africa.
On the 9th, Trump had lunch with leaders of five African countries at the White House. Visual China
"Trump sees us as uneducated villagers"
During the lunch on the 9th, Trump praised the English proficiency of the Liberian president, Boakai, and asked him where he learned such fluent English.
"Where did you learn English so well?" Trump repeatedly questioned Boakai, "Where? Did you receive education? Where?"
Boakai replied, "Yes, sir."
Trump then said, "In Liberia? That's interesting. Your English is very good. There are some people at this table whose English is far worse than what you said."
This awkward video quickly went viral on social media, with netizens around the world mocking Trump for not knowing that English is the official language of Liberia, while also criticizing Trump for being "ignorant" and "arrogant." Some Liberians expressed strong dissatisfaction with Trump's remarks.
Liberia is located in West Africa. Since 1820, freed black slaves from America have been gradually settled here, forming the Liberia Federation in 1839, and declaring independence on July 26, 1847, establishing the Republic of Liberia. For more than a century, it was ruled by descendants of American black immigrants.
"I feel insulted because our country is an English-speaking country," said Achim Tamer Harris, a Liberian youth advocate, to CNN, "asking this question, I don't think it's a compliment. I think the President of the United States and Westerners still see Africans as 'people in villages who are not educated'."
An anonymous Liberian diplomat said that they considered Trump's comments "inappropriate." This diplomat added, "For an African president from an English-speaking country, this kind of statement feels a bit condescending."
South African politician Veronica Mente questioned on the social media platform X: "What prevented (Boakai) from getting up and leaving?"
The White House defended Trump. Masad Blos, the senior advisor for Africa in the Trump administration, said in a statement: "I attended the meeting, and everyone was very grateful for the president's time and effort. The African continent has never had a friend like President Trump at the White House." Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said that Trump's comments were "sincere praise.".
Liberia's Foreign Minister Sara Bassolot Nyanti also came forward to defend Trump. He explained to CNN that from the perspective of the Liberian president, "there was no offense," and that "many people do not understand the language boundaries or the linguistic population structure of the African continent."
"President Trump clearly heard the American influence in our Liberian English, so the Liberian president was not offended," Nyanti tried to ease the situation, "we know that English has different accents and forms, and Trump could recognize the unique tone of our English rooted in American English. He just recognized a familiar version of English."
However, the defense from the White House and Liberia did not quell the controversy on social media.
"Trump just praised the English proficiency of the Liberian leader, 'Where did you learn such fluent English?'” wrote Brian Klasenstein, a popular user on the X platform, “The fact is, English is the official language of Liberia. National shame!”
Another user shared this video and exclaimed, "Too embarrassing." Others openly stated that Trump's attitude towards Liberia was "condescending."
Screenshot of the tweet
Democratic Congresswoman Jasmin Crockett, an African-American member of the U.S. House of Representatives, posted on X that Trump was "extremely ignorant."
Crockett wrote: "Trump never misses an opportunity to express racist and wrong views, and every day he finds new ways to make himself look embarrassed. I'm very sure that openly offending others is definitely not the right way to conduct diplomacy."
Screenshot of Jasmin Crockett's tweet
CNN mentioned that Trump had previously been involved in controversy over his comments about African countries. In 2018, during his first term, Trump referred to immigrants from African countries and other countries as coming from "shithole countries." In May of this year, he made false statements to South African President Ramaphosa about South African white farmers being "victims of genocide."
Another video circulating on social media showed that when the President of Mauritania, Ghazouani, spoke at lunch, Trump became impatient.
At that time, Trump made a gesture to speed up, shook his head, and stared at Ghazouani, saying, "I don't want to spend too much time on this. Maybe we need to go faster. We have a full schedule ahead. If you could just tell me your name and country, that would be great."
This approach of Trump also faced criticism on social media. A U.S. netizen lamented, "We have such an incompetent president." Another netizen openly stated, "Foreign leaders won't come here anymore soon. Who would want to go to the White House just to be belittled?"
"Trump thinks these five African countries are available for him to pick"
A White House official told CNN that on the 9th, Trump met with the presidents of Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Senegal, and Gabon and had lunch with them. The official said, "The arrangement of this meeting and lunch dialogue is because Trump believes that African countries offer incredible business opportunities, which will benefit the American people and our African partners."
However, the report mentioned that major countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, and Ethiopia, which are the largest economies in Africa, were not invited to attend.
Regarding this, Christopher Afok Isike, a professor of African politics and international relations at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, said that the five African countries were carefully selected by Trump as summit participants, and were also seen by the U.S. as "easy fruits" to gain influence against China and Russia in Africa.
"On one hand, Trump is eager to achieve some agreements to show his supporters that he is achieving results for the United States," Isike said, and at the same time, some of these agreements are consistent with the U.S. efforts to counter China and Russia's influence on the African continent. CNN noted that China is the largest bilateral trade partner of Africa, and Russia is expanding its influence on the African continent, becoming a major military supplier for many African countries.
Isike said, "Most of the large countries in Africa are either important members of the BRICS or aspire to become important partners of the organization. (The five African countries attending the U.S. summit) do not belong to this category, so they are regarded as easy fruits."
The report mentioned that after entering his second term, Trump has paid considerable attention to African mineral resources, intending to counter China in key mineral supply chains.
On June 27 local time, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo signed a peace agreement in Washington, D.C., promising to end a 30-year conflict and promote peace and stability in the Great Lakes region of Africa. But the U.S. involvement obviously had ulterior motives. According to reports by U.S. media such as the Wall Street Journal, this agreement is one of the core measures of the Trump administration to counter China in Africa.
The agreement involves both countries opening up their mineral resources to U.S. investment. It states that the integration work focused on key mineral supply chains will "enable the two countries to establish partnerships with the U.S. government and investors under appropriate circumstances."
On June 27, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo signed a peace agreement in the U.S. Video screenshot
CNN noted that the five African countries of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Senegal, and Liberia, although having smaller economies, have rich mineral resources, including oil and gas, gold, iron ore, and rare earth elements.
During the White House meeting on the 9th, President Nguema of Gabon emphasized the country's abundant mineral resources and encouraged U.S. investment.
"We are not a poor country. In terms of raw materials, we are a wealthy country. However, we need partners to support us and help us develop these resources," Nguema warned Trump, "Other countries will fill any gaps created by the U.S. Our country is free and open to all. Welcome to invest. Otherwise, other countries may replace you."
Trump clearly stated that the U.S. policy toward Africa is shifting "from aid to trade." He said at the beginning of the meeting that African countries "have huge wealth and economic potential," with rich reserves of minerals and oil. The U.S. policy toward Africa is "shifting from aid to trade," and in the long run, "this will be more effective, sustainable, and beneficial than any other action we have taken together."
Isike said that the White House plans to hold a broader summit of African leaders later this year, and Trump has already clearly stated that the U.S. policy toward Africa "will shift from traditional aid to strategic commercial engagement." Isike added that this shift is "a high-risk gamble, which aligns with the U.S. goal of reshaping its influence in Africa through investment, and at the same time, to counter China's influence and cultivate economically self-reliant African partners." However, he said, "Helping Africa to be self-reliant is not because he (Trump) loves Africa, but because he has no patience for those countries that only seek help from the U.S."
Data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shows that in recent years, Sino-African relations have achieved leapfrog development. China has established strategic partnerships with all African countries with which it has diplomatic relations, and China has been the largest trading partner of Africa for 16 consecutive years. Since the Beijing Summit last year, China has increased investments in Africa by over 13.3 billion yuan, and the total amount of financial support for Africa has exceeded 150 billion yuan. In the first five months of this year, China-Africa imports and exports reached 963 billion yuan, an increase of 12.4%, setting a new record for the same period in history.
In June this year, the Ministerial Meeting on the Coordination of Implementation of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was held in Changsha. China announced that it would implement a 100% tariff exemption for 100% of the tariff items for all 53 African countries that have diplomatic relations with China.
Spokesperson Lin Jian of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out that China always regards strengthening solidarity and cooperation with African countries as an important cornerstone of its foreign policy. China is willing to work with African countries to effectively implement the results of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, carefully plan the future development of the forum, use the "golden key" of Sino-African unity and cooperation to open the "door to common development," and help African development and revitalization through Chinese-style modernization, contributing Chinese and African forces to the solidarity and self-strengthening of the Global South and the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.
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