Overview

• At the July 9 White House summit on U.S.–Africa trade, President Trump asked Joseph Boakai where he learned to speak “such beautiful English,” overlooking that English has been Liberia’s official language for nearly two centuries.
• Liberian leaders and citizens expressed embarrassment and frustration, saying the comment revealed a gap in Trump’s knowledge of Liberia’s founding history and linguistic heritage.
• Opposition figure Foday Massaquio condemned the remark as disrespectful, while Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti downplayed its impact and urged reporters to concentrate on the summit’s policy agenda.
• White House spokespeople countered that Trump’s words were a heartfelt compliment and criticized media coverage as misleading “fake news.”
• The incident has heightened scrutiny of the administration’s shift “from aid to trade” in Africa and reignited debates over cultural sensitivity in U.S. diplomacy.